Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser
by Zombie Pigeon
Summary: 1x5 2x3x4. [Complete!] One boring day, Trowa is coaxed into telling a rather odd fairy tale vaguely similar to Cinderella. That is, if Cinderella were a Chinese martial artist with a temper.
1. Chapter One

This is my newest project ^_^ after the seriousness of Phonix, I wanted to do  
something light and fun, so here it is ^_^  
Enjoy!  
-Nikki :-P

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nikki :-P or Nataku's Child  
Archive: Nikki's Realm http://www.geocities.com/mageofthewinds/  
Feedback: Please!! ^___^ Nataku@linkline.com  
Couples: 1+5 (eventually) and implied 2+3+4... (kinda) ^_^;;

Warning: Shounen-ai...wow...that's it for this chapter I think ^_^;;

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. Kobi is the name of an original character, which is not owned by me, he's the creation of my friend Cher-chan. This fic is inspired by "Ever After". Its loosely based on it, when you look at the over all plot, it has similarities. I don't own "Ever After". I love the movie, have access to a copy (my sisters') but I do not own it. All in all, this is a fan work, I'm jus' doin' this for fun ^_^

Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Chapter One

One insignificant Sunday, in a small house, Duo Maxwell was staring out his window at the darkened sky. It had been raining all day, with no hope -as well as no comforting words from the weatherman- of it letting up. Dark and heavy clouds cluttered the sky, blocking out the sun and its comforting rays, while pouring water down on the house of the somber American.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips, one of many that had previously passed. With a forlorn last glance, Duo turned away from the window to look at the other boys in the room.

Quatre was sitting by the fire, playing with a kitten he'd recently been given by one of his sisters as a birthday gift. It was still clumsy and would trip over its own paws as it tried to capture the bit of string the smiling blonde was twitching over its head.

Duo couldn't help but smile despite the depressing weather when Quatre twitched the string too sharply and scared the young feline. It let out a tiny hiss before scampering away to hide under the couch. Duo turned his gaze away from Quatre as his roommate crawled on his belly towards the couch to coax the frightened pet from its hiding spot.

The other occupant was sitting in large, squishy armchair, also close to the fire. He was quietly reading, looking perfectly content and uncaring of the terrible weather that kept Duo inside and bored to tears.

Duo 'humphed' and looked back to the window, his eyes switching from the wind blown trees trying to stay upright in the storm, to the droplets of water racing down glass panes...

Well, he did this for a good...three seconds.

"I'm bored!" He finally voiced to his roommates. "There's nothing to do," he added, crossing his arms and sticking out his bottom lip slightly to successfully pull off the "Maxwell Pout".

"There is plenty to do," Trowa said softly, turning another page of his book. "Play with Kobi." He waved in Quatre's general direction.

Quatre sat up from where he was laying by the couch. "Kobi's not in the playing mood right now..." Quatre was smiling, but he was also holding what looked like a rather scratched up finger.

Duo moved from his perch near the window to take one on the arm of Trowa's chair. "Amuse me, Tro'." Duo mumbled, leaning his head against Trowa's.

Trowa sighed and closed his book. "Do you have something in mind?"

Duo pretended to think while Quatre crawled over to the chair, placing his chin on Trowa's knee. "I can think of a few things..." Duo finally said with a grin at Quatre, making the other boy blush.

Quatre faked a cough so he could bow his head until the pink flush went away. When he rid himself of the images Duo's words had given him, he looked up and smiled. "How about a story?"

"A what?" Duo and Trowa asked simultaneously.

"A story," Quatre repeated with a grin.

Trowa blinked a few times before finally asking, "You want me to tell you a story?"

Duo laughed. "Yeah! I like the idea. Tell us a story Tro'!"

Trowa looked from the beaming Quatre to the grinning Duo and frowned. "I don't know any stories..."

"Just tell us a Fairy Tale," Quatre said.

"No!" Duo whined. "Those are all about straight couples! And they're so fake!"

Quatre pouted softly. "I like Fairy Tales, they're romantic!"

Duo sighed. "Fine...but it has to be about guys! And not to sugary either..." Duo turned to Trowa. "So you'll have to make one up' Tro'."

Trowa blinked. "Make one up? Now?"

"You can do it, Trowa," Quatre encouraged with a warm smile. "Just say whatever comes to mind."

Trowa sighed. He knew he could never deny either of them anything...maybe he could make up something short until they fell asleep?

"Alright..." Trowa said slowly. "Why don't you two get comfortable while I think?"

Duo and Quatre grinned at each other before simultaneously jumping into the squishy armchair on either side of Trowa. Trowa's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, then he smiled and sighed, putting an arm around each of the other boys.

"How do I start?" he asked.

"Once upon a time!" Duo and Quatre answered together.

~()~

Once upon a time...

In a country...that...had no name...don't look at me like that, I'm trying...

Once upon a time...there was young man.

His family had moved to this country from very far away, traveling such a distance that when they finally settled, the country they built their house in was almost the exact opposite of what they were used to.

They had been poor in their homeland, and had been seeking a place where they could prosper and live happily and comfortably. However, when they got the their new home, the family found only hardship. The seeds for their crops wouldn't grow in the strange land, and with nothing of value to sell, they were afraid that they would starve.

The mother suggested the father go into the nearby village, to search for a job while she stayed home and cared for their son and daughter. The girl was still a baby and the boy was still unsteady on his feet...much like Kobi.

The father agreed, and so began the first bright step the family had taken in their hard lives. For the villagers were fascinated by the strange man. From his eyes and hair, to his strange clothes and his even stranger way of speaking, to the small coins he tried to give them. Eventually, they became to understand each other, through hand signs and mistakes. The father could now provide.

Years past. The son and daughter grew, as did the family's prosperity. The mother began making clothes for the women in town, and then other villages until the father would travel to the nearest town to sell her exotic fashions.

Now that you know his past, I'll go back to the young man. You see, where my story starts, is one day when the young man's life changed drastically.

He was out in the woods near his house in the early morning. He woke up everyday, earlier then even his mother and father to go into those woods to practice. He would find his favorite spot and meditate like his mother had taught him, as well as practice the fighting katas his father had taught him.

His name? His name...

Was Wufei.

.……

Yes Duo, _Wufei_, Wufei.

Anyway, when Wufei had finished his daily ritual, he used a hand to shield his eyes as he looked up at the sky. The sun was just reaching the treetops in the east. He hadn't noticed it had gotten so late. He took off running. He was fast, and knew the forest well. Like a panther, Wufei ran through the trees, deftly hopping over roots and fallen branches as though he didn't think about it. As he neared his house, he slowed to a walk. Coming out from the protection of the trees, Wufei looked around his backyard until he caught site of what he was looking for.

A thin young girl with jet-black hair and pale skin was sitting on the edge of the small stone well that sat near the house. She turned her face to Wufei as he walked up, her small face lighting up when she saw her brother for the first time that day.

"How long have you been out?" Wufei asked, walking up to the well and dropping down the bucket to get him self a drink.

"Not very long," she answered, her voice soft and slightly rasping. "Get caught up in your katas? Silly brother, you should know by now that no matter how hard you practice, you wont ever be as strong as me." The girl said seriously, though the smallest of smiles on her lips gave away her playfulness.

Wufei smirked and drank some of the well water from his cupped hand. "One of these days..." he said once he had swallowed. Then softer, "you should drink." He held out the bucket.

The smile fell from the girl's lips and she nodded, cupping her thin hands and dipping them into the offered bucket. When she was done, she looked up at the sky. "It's nice out, today..." she said softly.

Wufei hummed softly in agreement, though he wasn't looking at the sky. "Meiran, how long have you been out?" he repeated his earlier question.

Meiran sighed and looked back to her brother. "Longer then I should," she said sheepishly.

Wufei shook his head, smiling sadly. "You always do." He wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her stand.

Normally, Meiran wouldn't let him help, but the reason why Wufei had repeated his question, was that she was looking flushed and tired.

When Meiran was nine, she started having health problems. She had weak lungs, and instead of getting better as she grew, it got worse. She had to stay in the house for most of the day, only going out when the sun was still low in the sky.

Now, Wufei was nearing his eighteenth birthday, and Meiran was sixteen.

They still lived the old cottage the family had first settled in. They kept to themselves. Because of their different looks, beliefs and way of life, they didn't quite fit in with the villagers, though they got along well enough. Wufei and Meiran's father also followed his old traditions, so fearing outside interference, kept Wufei and Meiran at home, away from the strange village children who might give his children 'bad habits'.

~()~

Suddenly, Trowa stopped. Duo and Quatre looked up at him from their respective positions at his sides.

"...And then..." Duo prompted.

Trowa stretched. "And then, I went to bed."

"What?!" Duo and Quatre exclaimed together.

Trowa stood up and started walking away. "I'm tired."

Quatre's mouth dropped open. "B-but..."

"You barely started!"

"What happens to Meiran!"

"When does it get romantic!"

"Why did you stop _there_!?"

Trowa smiled softly at them over his shoulder before leaving the room.

Duo and Quatre looked at each other, sharing a look of disappointment before calling out: "Trowa!!!"

To Be Continued!

Next Chapter:  
In which Wufei accepts a rather unusual mission.

Lemme know what ya think! Good or bad ^_^ I can take it.  
-Nikki :-P


	2. Chapter Two

Hi! Another chapter is here ^_^ sorry for the shortness of the last chapter!  
This one is short too, but the next one is like twice this size! So bare with me?  
Thanks for all the very nice feedback ^_^ it was much appreciated!

Love-ness!  
-Nikki :-P

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nikki :-P or Nataku's Child  
Archive: Nikki's Realm http://www.geocities.com/mageofthewinds/  
Feedback: Please!! ^___^ Nataku@linkline.com  
Couples: 1+5, implied 2+3+4  
Warning: Shounen-ai...wow...that's it for this chapter I think ^_^;;  
Disclaimer: ...is long -_- I dun own anything. See first chapter for the full thingy.

Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Chapter Two

A half awake and groggy Trowa Barton was standing by the coffee maker, staring blankly at the dark drops as they fell into the coffee pot. Drop by drop...The coffee scent that always smelled better then the actual beverage was slowly waking Trowa up as he waited for his caffeine...er..._coffee_ to finish brewing.

Trowa was still watching the coffee maker with eyes more closed then open, when an even less awake Duo stumbled into the kitchen. Trowa looked over and smiled slightly in greeting, inwardly laughing at Duo's mussed sleep clothes - an old band shirt and boxers.

"Coffee should be done soon." Trowa informed him.

Duo made a sound that may or may not have been an actual word, and slumped into a chair. With a thunk, his head met the table. "I hate Mondays..." he mumbled.

Trowa smiled softly and looked back to the coffee pot.

"Gooooood morning!" Quatre walked in, sounding and looking more cheerful then any mortal should be at 6:30 Monday morning. He smiled brightly at his two roommates, rubbing his head with a towel, having just come from a shower, being the first awake...and the first coherent of the house's occupants.

Duo rolled his head to the side to throw a miffed look at Quatre. "mumph..." he grumbled.

Quatre smiled at him. "I'll take that as 'good morning Quatre! It's a fine day isn't it?'"

Duo rolled his head back to face the table again. "mumph."

Trowa shook his head and poured a cup of coffee for Duo and himself, ignoring the disgusted looks from Quatre as the blonde got some juice.

"Drink." Trowa said softly, sliding the mug at Duo.

Duo looked up, saw the mug and immediately brightened. "You're a life saver! I love you!!" These words would have been sweet and endearing, had they been said to Trowa and not the Kumagoro coffee mug. [1]

The three sat in silence at the table, Trowa and Duo waiting for their coffee to cool, and Quatre waiting for his breakfast to toast.

Until...

"OH!!"

Duo and Trowa jumped.

"What??" Duo asked before sticking his finger in his mouth. He'd spilt some coffee on it when Quatre had shouted.

"Trowa!" The blonde turned to the confused brunette. "You never finished your story!"

Trowa sighed in relief. "Oh..."

"Hey yeah..." Duo said slowly. "Yeah! I wanna know what happens to Wufei! And where the yaoi comes in!"

Quatre bounced in his chair. "Yeah! Tell us now!"

Duo was grinning now. "Yeah! Come on Tro'!"

Trowa was frowning. "But...we have work..."

Quatre stopped bouncing and pouted. "B-b-but..."

"You just left it!" Duo whined, pouting too.

"With poor Meiran being sick!"

"And no yaoi!"

Trowa sighed and tried again. "But we have to leave. We have work."

Silence.

"And?" Duo asked.

"This is more important." Quatre said sternly.

Duo nodded enthusiastically before sipping at his coffee.

Trowa sighed. "Fine, but only a little, then we leave."

Encouraged by bright smiles and Duo and Quatre's full attention, Trowa picked up the story from where he left off.

~()~

Let's see...

Wufei tucked Meiran into bed and sat by her side until the girl's eyes slowly closed and she slept. Wufei sighed and left her room, his forehead wrinkled in worry. Distracted, he made his way into the larger part of the house.

His thoughts clouded by worries about his sister, Wufei didn't notice his parents sitting and quietly talking until they addressed him.

"Wufei."

Wufei looked to his father, who had just spoken.

His father was a small man, Wufei being almost a hand's span taller then him. He was strong, quiet, very wise and deeply devoted to his religion and values. His mother was kind and loving with a love for beauty and literature. As children, Wufei and Meiran were taught the physical arts by their father, and the creative and spiritual arts by their mother.

Wufei bowed slightly and then sat in front of his parents. "Yes, Father?"

"Wufei..." Wufei's father started, looking very troubled.

Wufei's mother smiled softly. "How is Meiran?"

Wufei noted the obvious change in conversation. "She's sleeping." He said cautiously.

His mother nodded and smiled sadly.

Silence followed, and Wufei grew uneasy. "Was there something you needed?" he asked softly.

"My son...this isn't easy..." Wufei's father started.

"Your father has brought news from the village." His mother cut in.

"Oh?" Wufei asked, turning to his father.

"Yes..." His father said with great difficulty. "The...Royal Family is having a...ball...for their daughter...it's her birthday."

Wufei vaguely remembered learning about the Royal Family. If memory served him right, the oldest son was a around his age.

"It is said that the girl is very fond of such things, and has invited any one who wishes to come." His mother added.

Wufei looked from his father to his mother, wondering why they were telling him this. "You...wish to go?" he asked.

Wufei's father shook his head. "No."

"Wufei..." his mother said softly. "Meiran grows weaker every day, she needs proper care, I can't do all a real doctor can...but we can't afford one... this ball, will have many rich, noble people to meet...to marry into such a family..."

Wufei's mouth fell open. "You want Meiran to go? In her condition!" he said angrily.

"Quiet!" his mother whispered. "You'll wake her." When Wufei closed his mouth and bowed his head, she continued. "No, we don't want her to go." She said softly.

"Then who?" Wufei asked, raising his head again.

"My son..." Wufei's father spoke up again. "I don't like the idea, and I don't feel I have the right to ask this of you-"

"Me?!" Wufei hissed, keeping his voice low.

Wufei's mother put a hand on his shoulder to sooth him. "We will not push you, if you don't want to, we wont make you."

Wufei looked down, trying to let go of his anger and think clearly. "You want me to find a rich woman to marry, just for her money? But-"

"It is against everything I've ever taught you." Wufei's father finished, fixing his son with a stern look. "Which tells you exactly how much we need you to do this."

Wufei looked down again.

Meiran was dying. Though none of them said it, all of them knew it. Without proper care...

"I'll do it." Wufei said, looking up. "I understand."

"Not so quickly, Wufei." His mother said softly. "We have some...complications."

"What?" Wufei asked.

"Because of our need, it is assumed you will be looking for someone elderly." Wufei's father said.

Wufei nodded. He had already thought of that.

"However," his mother said. "When your...spouse passes away, we can't have you in a role of power."

Wufei looked down. They were right. While the villagers knew and trusted them, despite their differences, strangers could be different.

"Then what do we do?" Wufei asked.

"If a woman is widowed..." his mother said slowly. "The land and title go to the first son..."

Wufei blinked. "Well, yes..."

"Which would leave the wife to live quietly..." his mother said softly, holding her son's eye.

Wufei stared at his mother for a moment, unsure of what she was getting at. Suddenly, the pieces fell into place.

"What?!" he hissed, his eyes wide.

Wufei's father frowned. "It is a low and dishonorable path, but sometimes the best way isn't the easiest."

"I can't believe you're asking me to do this!" Wufei was struggling to keep his voice down. He started to stand, but his mother caught his hand.

"Wufei!" She whispered sharply, bringing her son's movement to quick stop. "Sit." Wufei sat, still looking angry. "I know that this is...almost an impossible thing to ask. And you must know, that under any other circumstance, we would never even think to ask. We love you, and we love Meiran. Please Wufei, think about it."

Wufei sat back down and frowned in thought. Eventually he sighed and spoke again. "So your plan...is for me to go to this ball and find a...husband?"

~()~

Trowa stopped and looked at the clock.

Duo and Quatre were leaning in, watching Trowa intently. When he opened his mouth, they held their breath, anticipating more of the story.

"It's time to go." Trowa said, scooting back his chair and standing.

Duo and Quatre blinked.

"W-what?" Duo asked standing too.

"It's time to go...I don't even have time for a shower..." he said softly to himself as he started to leave the kitchen.

"But the story!" Duo and Quatre cried out in unison.

"Has made us late and Duo, you're still in your boxers." Trowa said.

"But Trowa!!" Duo and Quatre cried, running over to cling to their storyteller.

"'Fei's gonna cross dress!"

"Meiran's dying!"

"You left it in the middle!"

"There's going to be a ball!"

"And you _still _haven't gotten to the yaoi!"

Trowa sighed. "I shouldn't have let you talk me into this..."

To Be Continued!

Next chapter:  
In which Wufei goes to the ball and runs into some unexpected trouble.

[1] Kumagoro is Ryuichi's bunny ^_^ (Gravitation)  


Lemme know what ya think! Sorry for the short-ness ^_^;;;;  
-Nikki :-P


	3. Chapter Three

Hi everyone!  
Wow ^_^ I'm getting such nice feedback from people! Thanks so much!  
Here's another chapter! Longest so far! I hope it doesn't get lost as everyone  
tries to upload their stuff after being cut off from FF.net for so long!

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nikki :-P or Nataku's Child  
Archive: Nikki's Realm http://www.geocities.com/mageofthewinds/  
Feedback: Please!! ^___^ Nataku@linkline.com  
Couples: 1+5, implied 2+3+4...kinda?  
Rating: PG-13

Warning: Shounen-ai and harsh-ish language

Disclaimer: ...is long -_- I dun own anything. See first chapter for the full thingy.

**Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
**Chapter Three

The week went by with much agitation and whining. After being an hour late to work, Trowa refused to tell anymore of the story until the weekend, at the least. Teary eyes, silent bouts, much pouting, whining and begging, but still, the tallest of the trio wouldn't budge.

And so came the weekend.

Saturday's sun was barely in the sky, lighting Trowa's room with a soft orange glow through the window near his bed. Trowa himself was deep asleep, not showing any sign of waking up for hours to come.

Poor, peaceful Trowa.

The door creaked open slowly and two eyes peered through...strangely, they were different colors.

"Does he look awake?" Quatre whispered to Duo.

"Naw, he's asleep." Duo whispered back.

Quatre sniffed. "I'm tired of waiting though!" he exclaimed, still keeping his voice soft.

Duo pouted. "Ditto... Let's wake him up!"

Quatre's eyes widened as Duo opened the door all the way and padded into Trowa's room. "Duo, NO!" he hissed, standing from where he was crouching. "You shouldn't-"

Duo turned to flash an evil grin over his shoulder before jumping in to the air, whispering: "Too late" before he landed on Trowa's bed, sending Trowa half a foot into the air before bouncing himself.

Trowa gasped as he was suddenly shoved into reality. He hit the bed again, bouncing a few more times before finally resting on the bed for good. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, searching for the reason why he had woken up so early.

Duo's head popped up, grinning full force. "That was fun, I should wake you up more often."

Trowa sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What time is it?"

"Nearly 7:30." Quatre said softly, walking over to sit on the side of Trowa's bed.

Trowa looked from the grinning Duo, to the apologetic Quatre before groaning softly and falling back onto the bed. "It's Saturday..." he said softly, throwing an arm over his eyes.

Duo crawled over to sit next to Trowa. "Yep! Which means it's the weekend, which means it's story time!!" He announced, bouncing again and making the other two bounce as well.

Trowa lifted his arm and stared at Duo. "You woke me up at seven in the morning to tell you a story?"

"7:30." Quatre corrected.

"You promised!" Duo reminded. He stopped bouncing and started shaking Trowa gently.

Trowa batted at Duo's hand and rolled over, burring his head in his pillow.

Duo pouted and crossed his arms. "Come _on_ Tro'!" he whined.

"Maybe we should leave him alone..." Quatre said softly. "He had a long day yesterday."

Duo lip quivered. "But Q..."

Quatre waved a finger at Duo. "Now Duo! He needs his rest!"

Duo slumped over. "Fine...I guess I can make breakfast while-"

Trowa shot up. "I'll tell the story!" he said, grabbing Duo's arm as the boy started to get off the bed.

Duo and Quatre blinked. "What?" they asked simultaneously.

Trowa let go of Duo. "I'll tell the story." He stretched and yawned before he scooted back to lean against the headboard.

"Yay!!" Duo jumped back on the bed and hugged Trowa's waist as they bounced.

Quatre sat back on the edge, looking confused. "But you were..."

"I don't want Duo to have to cook," Trowa said softly, throwing Quatre a meaningful look.

Quatre made a silent 'oh' before grinning. "Alright then." He made himself more comfortable before looking at Trowa expectantly.

Trowa sighed and looked at the ceiling in thought. "Let's see...Wufei's parent's were helping him to get ready for the ball..."

~()~

There was a lot to do before the Princess's party. Wufei's dress needed to be made, of course. But the hardest and most important, was teaching Wufei how to act like a woman.

"This isn't going to work," Wufei stated for the 20th time that day.

"It will work!" His father exclaimed, tapping Wufei on the head not-so-lightly. "You just need to try harder! Now, say it again."

Wufei sighed and rubbed his temples. "I'm sorry, I don't speak much English."

Wufei's mother shook her head. "No, you sound too much like you're trying to sound like a woman..." she frowned and went back to sewing Wufei's dress.

"I _am_ trying to sound like a woman!" Wufei hissed.

"Don't yell at your mother!" Wufei's father barked, hitting Wufei again.

Wufei ducked his head. "I'm sorry." He mumbled, still seething with frustration.

They had been working for nearly a week, with only a few days until the party. Wufei had taken to most everything else pretty well. Dancing was easy, due to Wufei's natural grace and daily martial arts training. His dress was nearly done, his mother was only putting on the final touches. All that was left was his voice.

He was going to use the excuse that he couldn't speak English very well so that he wouldn't have to talk much, which was believable due to his looks. In truth, Wufei and Meiran both spoke English nearly flawless, though their accents were a little on the thick side. Wufei's parents had always stressed education, and they had both learned from the books their father brought home from town.

The problem with Wufei's voice was it was too deep and, well, _male._

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," Wufei said, after he had calmed down a bit.

Wufei's father sat down next to his mother and sighed. "When you make it higher, it sounds fake...when you just speak normally, it's too deep..."

"And rough." Wufei's mother added. She cut her thread with a small knife and put the garment aside. The small, elegant woman stood, dusting off her dress before eying her son with a thoughtful look. "Wufei...do you remember that nursery rhyme your father taught you and Meiran when you were children?"

Wufei nodded hesitantly. "We used to sing it all the time...why?"

"Sing it for me now," His mother ordered softly.

Still confused, Wufei sang quietly, "ba ba black sheep, have you any wool?"

"A note higher," his mother said. "But stay quiet."

Wufei nodded and continued singing. "Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full."

Wufei's mother smiled. "Perfect. Now say your line again, just as you sang."

Wufei a moment before understanding dawned. "I'm sorry. I don't speak much English." He sang softly.

Wufei's father stood and put an arm around his wife. "That's very good."

Wufei thought it over and tested it a few times while his mother gathered up his dress. She handed it to him. "Try this on, tell me how it fits."

Wufei nodded and hefted the bundle. "Why is it so heavy?" he asked.

"The sandbags." His mother said, turning to leave.

"Sandbags..?" Wufei rustled through the folds of fabric and found what seemed to be to be to pouches of sand, sewn onto a band of fabric.

"They will be your breasts."

Wufei reddened. Was it from anger or embarrassment? Most likely, a little of both.

~()~

Duo giggled and Quatre blushed. Duo was lying quite comfortably with his head on Trowa's lap, and Quatre was snuggled against Trowa's side. The ceiling fan whirred softly, the created breeze running soft fingers through Trowa's ruffled hair as he paused, thinking about where the story was going.

Duo looked up. "Yo Tro', don't tell me you're stopping there!"

Trowa frowned. "Well...what next? I've hit a small hitch..."

"Well, what about the princess? And the Prince?" Quatre asked, looking up at Trowa.

Trowa settled back down. "Well..." Trowa thought for a moment, and then smiled softly. "Well, at the castle, Princess Hilde-"

"Hilde!" Duo sat up, grinning.

Trowa smiled at Duo before continuing the story.

~()~

Princess Hilde was buzzing around the castle, checking to make sure everything was perfect for her coming birthday party. After weeks of preparation, the day had come. The day was clear and warm, summer being near. Hilde stood in the middle of a large room, where the party was going to be for the most part.

She was grinning ear to ear, watching the servants decorate. Long, brightly colored cloth banners went from one side of the room to the other, hundreds of candles were placed and ready for lighting once night fell. Outside, numerous piles of wood littered the castle grounds, also ready to be lit when the time came.

Everything was perfect...

Hilde clapped her hands and laughed. "Perfect!"

"Your highness!" a woman in her late twenties called out, walking swiftly towards the princess.

Hilde turned and smiled at the woman, running over to give her a big hug. "Oh! Aunty Une! Doesn't it look great?"

Une gave Hilde a stern look. "You know you're not supposed to call me that."

Hilde rolled her eyes and pulled her nursemaid over to the center of the room. "Just look! Everything's going to be so great! And so many people are coming! I'm so excited!" Hilde was nearly jumping with joy as she squeezed poor Une.

Une couldn't help the small smile that crept to her lips. "Well, you'd best get ready soon. You don't want to be in your under things when the guests arrive."

Hilde sighed. "Yes aunty."

"Hush with that! You'll get me in trouble!" Une scolded, gently shooing the girl out of the bustling room.

Hilde giggled. "Alright, alright...Wait!" Hilde stopped and looked over her shoulder at Une. "Have you seen my brother?"

Une stopped pushing and frowned, though her eyes were smiling. "No, but I know where he is."

Hilde sighed. "Of course...do you know if he's comin' to the party?"

Une's eyes lost their smile. The frown was a real one. "Hilde..."

Hilde slumped. "Don't hold my breath..." she mumbled.

Hating to see the usually cheerful princess look so down, Une put an arm around the shorter girl in a rare show of affection. "Why don't you go talk to him? Maybe you can persuade him?"

Hilde smiled up at Une and gave her a tight hug. "Alright!" Letting go, Hilde raced away, waving back at Une and calling: "Thanks Aunty!"

Une frowned and held up a hand to the retreating girl. "That girls going to be the death of me..." she breathed.

Hilde ran past the palace servants who were working diligently to get the place ready for the night. She didn't slow until she was out into the castle yard, far past most of the activity. In the distance she saw two figures and laughed sadly, shaking her head.

"Figures."

Hilde slowed to a walk as she neared the two men. She stopped and crossed her arms when she was a fair distance away, and waited for them to notice her presence.

Her brother and his opponent were sparing, with her brother obviously being the better. His blonde partner threw a punch at his face. Hilde's brother blocked easily and dropped, sweeping his leg under, making the blonde stumble and fall.

The blonde laughed, his voice deep and rich. "Your victory...again, Heero." He started to sit up, but grunted and fell back into the grass. "On second thought, I should stay here a moment." He smiled and looked over to the previously ignored Princess. "Hilde! When did you get her?"

Hilde smiled sweetly and walked closer. "Good afternoon, Zechs. I came about when you were dumped on your ass." She said as sweet as she smiled.

Zechs laughed and shook his head. "Such language isn't appropriate for young girls, much less royalty. Where did you learn such profanity?"

"If I told you, she'd get in trouble." Hilde answered.

"What do you want?" Heero asked dully, offering Zechs a hand.

Hilde pouted. "Nice to see you too, dear brother." She said sarcastically.

Zechs laughed and took Heero's hand to pull himself up. When he was righted, he cleared his throat. "Well, I'll leave you two in favor for a bath. I would like to say good match Heero, but I don't think I deserve it. I don't see why you still ask _me_ to spar."

"You're the only one who's a slight challenge." Heero explained, still glaring at Hilde.

Zechs shook his head. "Slight is better then nothing, I suppose. We shall have to find you a suitable opponent." He bowed slightly to Heero before turning to Hilde. "I will see you later tonight. Save a dance for me?"

Hilde smiled. "Sure."

Zechs bowed. "I look forward to it." He left with a small wave to the siblings.

Hilde waved back. Heero didn't.

Zechs was one of the nobles who stayed at the castle. Hilde and Heero had known him for as long as Hilde could remember. When Zechs was in his early teens, his father died, leaving him on his own with his younger sister, Relena. They had moved into the castle until Zechs was old enough to care for his father's land. Hilde often wondered when he was going back, though she didn't really want him to leave. It was well known that Zechs preferred the company of other men, but that didn't stop him from flirting with everything that moved. He was one of Hilde's favorite people.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hilde saw Heero walking away in the other direction. She turned and jogged after him. "Heero! Wait!"

Heero didn't slow and Hilde had to keep jogging just to keep up. "What do you want?" Heero asked again.

"You know, my birthday's today." Hilde informed.

"Happy birthday." Heero said, not really sounding like he meant it.

"Thanks," Hilde said sarcastically. "I'm willing to forgive you for forgetting if you come to my party."

"I didn't forget."

"Will you come anyway?"

"No."

"Please??" Hilde grabbed Heero's arm and stopped jogging. "I want you to come!"

Heero stopped and looked at Hilde blankly. "Why?"

"Because you're my brother and you should come to my birthday party!"

"And?"

Hilde sighed. "Alright, alright...the truth is that my friend is going to be there-"

"No." Heero said firmly and started walking again.

"But you should meet new people! You need friends that you don't beat the crap out of!" Hilde whined, running after Heero again.

"Zechs is right about your language."

Hilde rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. So will you come?"

"No."

"Heero!" she grabbed his arm again, wincing when he turned and glared at her. "Please?" she begged softly. "I'm worried about you..." Hilde frowned softly.

Heero stopped glaring and sighed. He may not like his sister, but he did love her. "Fine. One hour."

"Thank you Heero!!" Hilde cried with a grin, latching on to Heero.

Heero sighed and tried to pry Hilde off, wondering how he got her for a sister.

~()~

Trowa stopped and looked down at his roommates. "That's it."

"Wha'??" Duo sat up and pouted. "But what about the ball??"

"Duo, it's already 12 and I haven't eaten," Trowa explained, taking his arm off Quatre and standing.

Duo blinked. "Really? But I'm not-" Before he finished, Duo's stomach growled so loudly that Trowa, who was already near the door, could hear it. "Hungry..." Duo finished, blushing slightly. "Guess I didn't notice..."

Trowa laughed softly and Quatre giggled.

Quatre bounced off the bed. "I'll make lunch so Trowa can keep telling the story." He offered, smiling brightly at Trowa as he past him and went out the door.

Duo grinned and stumbled towards the door, but got his leg caught in a sheet on the way there. "Ack!" Duo exclaimed as he tripped and started to fall. Trowa quickly caught him before he hit the floor and helped him untangle his leg.

"Heh, thanks Tro'..." Duo said as Trowa threw the sheet back onto the bed. Duo's cheeks burned and he played with his braid.

Trowa smiled. "Lets go eat." He said softly, walking out of the room.

Duo grinned and followed.

Once they were settled in the kitchen, with Duo and Trowa at the table drinking coffee, and Quatre starting on their lunch, Trowa took a deep breath and picked the story up from where he left off.

~()~

And so came time for Wufei to leave home. He kissed his mother on the cheek, nodded to his father and with a bundle under his arm, left his home to find a husband.

He walked through the woods as slowly as he could go, knowing that he shouldn't be late, but not wanting to have to change any time soon. He walked through the calming noises of the forest in twilight. The sun was sinking faster then Wufei wished it too, he knew that he would soon have to stop and change into his dress. He was nearing the castle.

Finally away from home, Wufei's mind started to analyze the situation. He was going to cross-dress to fool some old man into marrying him for his money.

Wufei's feet stopped moving.

"I'm doing _what_??" he hissed at himself, his face burning.

The days of preparation had gone by so fast, Wufei hadn't had the time to stop and seriously think about what he was doing. While the reason he was doing it was a good one, and kept him from running back home, it wasn't quite enough to make him at all _want_ to do it.

With sheer willpower, Wufei made himself walk forward.

'This is for Meiran...for Meiran...for Meiran...'

Light started seeping through the trees, Wufei knew that meant he was at the end of the forest. He slowed to a stop and reluctantly pulled the bundle from his arm. He set it on a nearby fallen log and drew out his clothes and 'accessories'. Wufei glared at the sandbag breasts for a few moments, almost thinking of leaving them behind. But with a sigh, he removed his clothes, and hung the breasts around his neck. One more moment of glaring before Wufei carefully picked up his dress.

His mother had taken much care in sewing his dress. She had even used some of the precious silk that she had brought from home. The dress was dark green, with golden clasps, and fit Wufei too tightly for his taste. Wufei slipped it on, his subconscious relishing in the feel of cool silk on warm skin. He was about to roll up the bundle to hide, when he noticed a few small things tucked into the folds. He frowned slightly and picked them up. There was a small mirror, a comb, a few containers of make up, a small glass vile and a note.

Wufei took out the note and read:

I know we didn't practice this, I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Try the make up, you can wash it off if you can't get it right.

Wufei, your father and I are extremely sorry that you have to do this. I hope you will someday forgive us.

- Mother

Wufei sighed, put down the note and picked up the comb. He vaguely remembered his mother wearing it on special occasions. It was small and old, though obviously well taken care off. The gold shown brightly, and the three small emeralds were newly polished. Wufei's heart ached.

'Meiran should be wearing this...' he thought. _'It should have been her wedding gift...it should be her heirloom..._' Wufei closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _'No! That's why I'm here. This _will_ be her heirloom, I'll give it to her on her wedding day.'_

With renewed resolve, Wufei got himself ready for the party. He managed the makeup fairly well, though he wished he had paid more attention when his mother used to put it on. He put the comb in his hair and turned to the vile. He pulled out the stopper and cautiously sniffed at the contents. A familiar smell flooded his nose. It was his mother's perfume.

Wufei wrinkled his nose and plugged the vile again.

It may be small, but he felt he had to hold on to that one last strand of masculinity.

Wufei bundled everything up and hid it. Looking around, he memorized where it was and with nothing left to stall, Wufei walked towards the forest's edge.

~()~

Quatre slid the plate full of sandwiches into the middle of the table and sat with a sigh. "Poor Wufei."

Duo grinned and grabbed and sandwich for each hand. He shoved half of one in his mouth, chewed and swallowed before speaking. "Yeah, he has to wear chick clothes."

"Well, yes... but also his sister is really sick! He seems to be worried about her," Quatre said. He picked up a sandwich and delicately picked at it as Duo shoved the other half of his in his mouth.

"You're going to choke," Trowa warned Duo. "Slow down."

Duo grinned and swallowed. "Don't worry Tro', I've swallowed more at one time in my lifetime," he said with a wink.

Quatre blushed brightly and Trowa was silent as Duo laughed and started on his left hand's sandwich.

When Quatre could speak, he turned to Trowa. "So back to the story."

Trowa sighed and started again.

~()~

The party was in full swing. The music was playing and people were dancing, talking, drinking and generally having a good time. Hilde was beaming. Her birthday party couldn't have turned out better. She hadn't seen so many people in her life. Men and women of all ages were crowded in to the large room, and even more were out in the yard. The low murmur of hundreds of voices was music to Hilde's ears as she and her best friend Dorothy moved about the room, followed by her guards.

"The party is absolutely wonderful, your highness!" Dorothy exclaimed, clutching onto her friend's arm. "You did such a great job! And you look stunning tonight."

Hilde smiled at the blonde. "Thanks Dorothy! And stop with the highness stuff. Come on, I'll introduce you to Heero."

"But I want to stay with you, Hilde," Dorothy said, holding Hilde tighter.

"Nonsense, you'll love Heero."

Heero himself was sitting at his throne, looking bored out of his mind.

'Why did I tell her I would spend an hour in this hellhole? I was ready to go fifteen minutes before it started...' Heero thought, ignoring the flirting looks he was getting from passing partygoers. He looked over to see his sister dragging her friend over towards him. _'So this is the one...'_

"Heero!" Hilde dragged the girl over and pushed her towards the prince. "This is the friend I was telling you about, Dorothy Catalonia."

Dorothy bowed. "It's an honor to meet you, your highness," she said dully.

Heero nodded.

Hilde sighed and rubbed her temples. "Why don't you two dance? I have to find Zechs before he disappears with one of the servants again, he owes me a dance."

Both Dorothy and Heero glared at Hilde at the word dance, though Hilde only addressed Heero's. "Please?" she begged.

"The agreement didn't include dancing." Heero stated.

"I don't want to trouble him. I don't even dance well," Dorothy said quickly.

"But you were saying you wanted to dance earlier!" Hilde exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips.

"With you..." Dorothy mumbled under her breath.

Hilde didn't catch it, but Heero did. The prince raised and eyebrow for a moment before turning to his sister. "Fine. One dance."

"Thanks Heero!" Hilde said, grinning. "I'm gonna go find Zechs!" With that, the girl ran off.

Dorothy watched her go with a scowl.

Heero stood and held out a hand, figuring it was best to get it over with. Besides, maybe after dancing, Hilde would let him leave early without any trouble...maybe.

Dorothy growled and reluctantly took it. Heero led her to the middle of the room where the dancers were. They danced as far apart as comfortably possible, both looking as though they would rather be anywhere but there. As they slowly waltzed in small circles, Heero regarded Dorothy carefully. He vaguely remembered his sister mentioning her name.

'They must be good friends...' Heero thought. _'And Dorothy's less then subtle hints prove that that's as far as it go... despite her wishes...'_

The song ended and the dancing partners mutually decided that one dance was all that was needed. Heero bowed his head slightly and started to walk away. Dorothy was already running off, probably off to find her 'friend'. Heero was walking back to his thrown, trying to figure out how much longer he had promised to stay, when something made him stop.

Amongst the heavy perfumes of the party goers, something made it's way through and tickled at Heero's senses... a scent that was fresh and clean, with a hint of something wild...

Heero looked around, unsure of what it was that drew him to the scent. He caught another breath of it and turned, just in time to see a flash of green before it disappeared, along with the scent that lured Heero to it's master.

~()~

After lunch, Quatre, acting rather unlike himself, left the dishes on the table and helped Duo drag Trowa towards the living room.

"No interruptions! Keep talking! Keep talking!" Quatre urged as they shuffled Trowa over the couch.

Trowa chuckled lightly and went on.

~()~

Wufei cautiously made his way through the people, keeping his head up just enough to see where he was going. The music and voices were grating at Wufei's nerves, making him irritable and frustrated. He grounded his teeth together and tried to think.

'How am I supposed to find this...husband? This magical man that will appear out of nowhere to make our lives better...idiot parents, did they even think this through?' Usually very respectful of his parents, Wufei was surprised at his own thoughts. _'Calm down and think! How do I find someone? I suppose I could find the oldest carcass in here and work my way down to the younger ones...'_

Wufei sighed and stopped to look around. Everyone looked young and energetic...how was he going to find-

"You, Stop." A voice commanded from behind Wufei.

'Shit!!' Wufei froze, his eyes wide. _'I've already been caught?!'_

Wufei slowly turned, keeping his head down. "Yes?" his voice sounded harsh in his ears.

'Idiot!!'

Wufei cleared his throat and sang softly, "yes?"

Nothing was returned. After a few moments of silence, Wufei chanced a glance up.

He looked up right into a pair of intense, cold blue eyes. He stared for a few seconds before the corner of his eye caught purple... Wufei looked down to see that the person wore a purple sash. He was royalty.

Wufei quickly bowed low. "Forgive me," he sang softly.

'Shit, Wufei! You stared him right in the eyes! You could get yourself killed!'

"Stand up," the man ordered.

Wufei quickly obeyed, though something nipped at his mind. Wufei stood straight, though he kept his head down. His father had told him a long time ago that an old king used to kill anyone on the spot who looked him in the eyes.

After nearly a minute, another order came. "Look at me." This one sounded...different...though it was so slight Wufei wasn't even sure that it _was_ different.

Fear tried to take a hold of Wufei, but the boy forced him self to be calm and slowly raised his eyes to meet those of royalty. It took every ounce of willpower Wufei had to keep his gaze.

The blue-eyed young man regarded him for a moment, making Wufei nervous. To take his mind of the unusual treatment, Wufei quickly did the same. The boy who stopped him looked to be about Wufei's age, and almost exactly his height. He had brown hair and eyes that made Wufei nervous with their intensity. He wore all black, except for the sash, the only thing that gave away his royal blood. He wore no embellishments or jewelry of any kind. Everything was clean, wrinkle free and...well, _plain_.

"What's your name?" The blue-eyed boy asked.

"Chang Wufei, your highness," Wufei answered automatically, without a thought about his name being a male name.

"Odd name."

Wufei had to keep himself from getting angry. "I am sorry. My family came from far away. I don't speak much English." He sang softly, trying hard to keep what was left of his anger out of his voice.

The boy nodded slightly. "I am Heero, your Prince." He said dully before looking around. "Dance with me."

Wufei felt as though his heart was now pumping ice. Half of him was relieved that he wasn't caught. The other half was afraid now to dance with the prince...and not happy to have to dance with this dull and blatantly rude prince.

But he bowed and followed Heero, seething at just about everything that got him into this situation. Heero stopped, turned and held out his hand. Reluctantly, Wufei bowed and took it. When Heero put his hand on his waist, Wufei felt a prickle of uncertainty. He had practiced this over and over, but with his mother and father, not with a stranger...

Not with a stranger that also happened to be another man.

'Oh god...'

~()~

Trowa's voice slowly trailed off as soft snores drifted to his ears. Trowa looked down at the two dozing faces and smiled softly. He carefully slid out from under the other boy's arms.

Duo and Quatre made soft noises of protest before getting comfortable and falling back asleep.

Trowa's eyes softened as he watched the two for a moment before shaking his head and leaving them to nap.

To be continued

Next Chapter:  
In which Wufei unwilling spends more time with our Prince Not-So-Charming.


	4. Chapter Four

Okay! I think I should clear up the whole Quatre Duo and Trowa thing! When I first started it, I had *no* idea what I wanted to do with them relationship wise, only that they start out as just close friends... really close ^_^;; it seems. So that's where their relationship is at this point in time, (really) close friends. But expect more to develop! ::grin::

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nataku's Child  
Archive: Nikki's Realm http://www.geocities.com/mageofthewinds/  
Feedback: Please! Nataku@linkline.com  
Warnings: Shounen-ai and maybe a lil' cussing in this one...  
Couples: 1+5 and 2+3+4 eventually

Disclaimer: I dun own it, that I don't. If you sue me, I'll be sad, that I will. Any resemblance to people (dead, living or fictional) or events (other then afore mentioned Ever After/Cinderella plot) is regrettable and unintentional. This is for my enjoyment (maybe yours as well) only, no harm!

Story Time With Trowa  
or  
Once Upon a Cross Dresser

Chapter Four  


Quatre sighed and snuggled deeper into the fluffy pillow he was hugging.

When the fluffy pillow snuggled back, Quatre was immediately awake. He sat up quickly and blinked to clear his vision so he could see whom he had wrapped himself around.

Duo looked drowsily back at him and yawned. "Oh...morning Q." Duo stretched and rubbed a hand across his cheek. "What's up?"

Quatre blinked, shrugged and got out of bed. "I'm not sure...the last thing I remember was Trowa telling us that story..."

Duo fell back into bed. "Lord...how long did we sleep?"

Quatre glanced at the clock. "It's almost seven...PM, so...four hours at the most."

Duo groaned and pulled the covers over his head.

Quatre laughed softly and sat back on the bed. "Come on Duo, you've slept enough, you wont be able to sleep tonight!" he said, pulling at the covers that Duo held tightly over his head.

"Too late, might as well let me sleep now." Came the muffled reply.

Quatre laughed and pulled harder. "Duo! Come _on_!"

"I just need a few more-"

"Nnnyyyeeeeww!!"

Quatre stopped pulling and Duo stuck his head out from under the covers.

"What was that?" Duo whispered.

Before Quatre could answer, it happened again.

"Nnnyyoooooooooowwww!!!"

Quatre's eyes widened. "Kobi!" he ran for the door.

Duo laughed. "That little kitten made _that_ much sound?"

When Quatre opened the bedroom door, little Kobi ran in and up Quatre's leg. Quatre winced as the kitten clawed its way to his shoulder. "I guess I forgot to feed him today." Quatre said, taking the purring fuzz ball off his shoulder and holding it in his arms to pet.

"The lil' guy must be hungry..." Duo said, climbing out of bed.

Quatre nodded and held Kobi up to his nose. "Come on Kobi-chan, we'll feed you and go find Trowa!"

The kitten purred and wiggled in Quatre's hands until he was free from his grip. Dropping to the floor, Kobi patted away, followed by a smiling Quatre and chuckling Duo.

They found Trowa in the kitchen making dinner. After feeding Kobi and themselves, Quatre and Duo begged Trowa for more of the story, but the boy wouldn't speak a word of it, telling them that they would have to wait until tomorrow afternoon (he emphasized the afternoon part) until he would tell more of the story.

The next day came slowly. Quatre and Duo had a hard time sleeping after their nap, but Trowa hadn't slept at all, so he went right to bed, much to the displeasure of Quatre and Duo.

(See Note at End)

But finally, the next day came. At twelve o' clock sharp, Duo and Quatre pounced on Trowa, begging for more of their story.

Trowa laughed lightly and put down the book he had been reading. "Alright..."

Duo and Quatre, grinning, got into more comfortable positions.

When Trowa figured they were ready, he continued the story.

~()~

Their dance seemed to last forever for Wufei, but to Heero, it was quite the opposite.

Heero watched Wufei the whole time, not able to tear his eyes off of the 'girl'.

Heero was usually oblivious or unimpressed by beauty. He had heard men talking about women, how a certain courtier had the softest hair or the biggest breasts, the most breathtaking eyes or the best figure. All of it had been pointless and boring to Heero. He found beauty to be shallow and women themselves to be dull and weak. All in all, Heero had been uninterested in women for the whole of his life. In fact, no one interested him, women or even men. Lord knows Zechs came on to him at least once a week. Heero just...didn't care.

But as Heero danced with Wufei...he couldn't help but notice the beauty of the creature he held. Silky black hair was wound tightly against the back of her head, only a few pieces fell from its prison to brush her face. Her skin had a golden tan, as though she spent most of her time outdoors. And her eyes... Heero had never seen eyes so dark. They reflected everything, holding anything personal inside. Shaded windows to a mysterious soul. Everything about this person intrigued Heero in an odd way, though he wouldn't even admit to himself how deep it already went.

The song changed and the girl pulled away, bowed, and quickly turned to leave.

"Wait!" Heero's voice was harsher then he meant it, the words coming out as reflex.

The girl winced and turned, eyes turned to the floor. She bowed. "Yes, your highness?" toned her soft, musical voice.

Heero wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want her to leave, but he didn't actually have something he wanted to do or say.

The music had changed to a waltz, loud and extremely annoying. The woman near him was laughing shrilly near his ear and someone reeked near by. Lord, Heero hated people...

"Follow me," Heero nearly growled at Wufei before turning and quickly leaving.

~

Wufei hesitated a moment, wishing not to go, but knowing better then to disobey what sounded like an order. He quickly followed after Heero, trying to keep his head down and still be able to see the Prince at the same time. It was hard, but he was still afraid someone would suspect him.

'I hate this plan more and more by the second...' Wufei thought darkly.

Heero led him out of the hall and out into castle grounds. The night was warm but had a cool, fresh breeze that was a relief after the stuffiness of the crowded hall. A few people were walking across the large spans of grass. Some couples looking to get a little privacy were walking quickly along the paths down towards either the woods or the gardens.

Wufei fell into step with Heero, staying a pace behind him and feeling nervous and annoyed at the same time. He wanted to be at home, or rather the woods near home. He wanted to be alone! Although he _needed_ to be back in the party, doing what he came to do. But no, he was doing neither of those. Instead he was trying to keep up with an aggravating prince who was walking to fast for Wufei to keep up with in his god-forsaken dress.

'For the love of...how do they walk in these?!' Wufei mentally screamed, taking three tiny steps for each one of Heero's strides.

Thankfully, once they were a good distance away from the castle, Heero slowed to a slow walk.

Wufei nearly sighed in relief. He still kept his distance, walking a little ways behind Heero.

He noticed and stopped. "Are you having trouble walking?" he asked.

Wufei couldn't tell by his voice if he was being rude or concerned, so he took it as the former. Wufei gritted his teeth. "No," he nearly growled before taking the last few steps to be at Heero's side. He stayed there from then on.

As they walked seemingly nowhere, Wufei's aggravation grew. Where the hell were they going? What was the point of this walk? Though he had to admit that he preferred being outside, rather then in the noisy hall... but still! Why did the prince have to take an interest in him of all people? Luck wasn't with him at all...

Wufei clenched his jaw tighter and glared sidelong at his silent captor.

In the back of his mind, he wandered if any of them women inside were jealous of him...he had to admit, Heero was handsome... sharp, well chiseled features, soft if messy hair... and he walked with a certain strength, confidence...purpose... for a moment, Wufei wandered if Heero practiced martial arts, but he immediately banished the thought. Someone who practiced wouldn't be so...

Wufei started to think arrogant, but why? Was he just making a flash judgment?

"Where...are you from?" Heero asked suddenly, jerking Wufei from his thoughts.

"Near a west village," Wufei replied vaguely, thickening his accent in hopes of discouraging any more questions.

It worked, Heero only nodded.

Suddenly, Wufei was stricken with brilliance. The western village he lived by was pretty far, and his house was even farther! "I...have to go." He said suddenly.

Heero stopped walking. "What? Why?"

"Long walk...it is late..." Wufei answered, trying to keep his words unnatural and clumsy. With that, before any more questions arose, Wufei walked quickly away.

~()~

"I feel bad for Heero," Quatre commented softly when Trowa paused.

"The boy needs to work on his people skills." Duo said, absently petting Kobi, who was curled up in his lap.

Quatre and Trowa sat in the big chair, Quatre was snuggled quite comfortably against Trowa and Duo sat on the floor near their feet, his head resting slightly on Quatre's leg.

Trowa smiled softly at Duo's comment and went on with the story.

~()~

Wufei nearly ran into the forest, only feeling comfortable once he was in the shade of the trees. He ran to the spot where he had hidden his clothes, almost missing it in his haste. He changed quickly, bundled up the dress and took off running again, the bundle held tightly in his arms.

It wasn't that he needed to get back home soon, he only ran because he wanted to run...in a way, _needed_ to run, needed to get away from what he saw as major failure. As he got farther away from the castle, guilt started to seep into his heart and mind. He didn't find a husband. He had a chance to help his sister, maybe save her life...and he failed.

So he ran. He ran to get away from his failure, he ran to get away from those people, but most of all he ran to get away from Heero. The awful prince that probably would have him killed if he found out what Wufei really was. He was glad to get away, to just be alone again in the quiet of the forest.

He finally stopped in a familiar clearing. It was his favorite place to train and it was his place to get away. The best part about it was that his family didn't know where it was. He placed the bundle at the edge of the clearing before walking to the center. He sat down, folding his legs into the lotus position and closed his eyes.

He concentrated on his breathing until it slowed and became more regular, then he expanded his mind, letting all his thought drift away into the near silence of the forest.

He wasn't sure how long it had been, but after some time, he opened his eyes and sighed.

It was time to face his parents.

~()~

"That's so sad..." Quatre said softly.

Trowa looked around. "Did you like it?"

"Like what?" Duo asked, poking at the sleeping Kobi to get him to wake up.

"The story." Trowa answered.

Quatre blinked. "What do you mean? That's the end??"

"Well, yes, I thought-"

"Oh you've _got_ to be kidding me!" Duo said, looking up at Trowa.

Trowa frowned. "But it had all that you wanted...it wasn't entirely happy, it had some romance...I suppose. And...I don't know what else to do with it."

Quatre sat up straight. "Romance! That wasn't romance! Trowa, you have to tell more! That's not even an end!"

Trowa sighed. "But that's all I have..."

Duo moved Kobi off of his lap and stood up. "Well start thinkin', 'cause me and Q aren't letting you off with that half-ass ending. Come on Kobi, let's go find something to do while Trowa thinks." Duo walked off with little Kobi trailing behind.

Trowa was frowning after Duo when Quatre turned to him and smiled brightly. "You'll think of something!" he exclaimed. He kissed Trowa quickly on the cheek before getting up and following Duo out.

Trowa watched them leave before a hand crept up to his cheek. He raised and eyebrow before a slight smile twitched at his lips.

With a sigh, he sat back to think of more to tell.

To Be Continued!

Next chapter:  
In which the Chang family gets a visit from a rather unwelcome guest.

End Note:  
Okay, so at that point in the story, Quatre and Duo sleep together. It's kind of an important part, and I'm working on the lemon, but it's gonna take a while and I didn't wanna keep you guys waiting for this part! So in short, they have sex (for the first time…well, first time *together*) and are now a couple...more...kinda... _ hard to explain! ::sighs::


	5. Chapter Five

Hello everyone!  
I was sorta afraid of my chapter being swallowed up in a mass upload after FF.net started working again, which is what happened to my last chapter, I think ^_^;; so I waited on this one, sorry! But here it is, chapter five for you!

Hope you like it ^_^  
-Nikki no / \"kA

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nataku's Child  
Archive: Nikki's Realm http://www.geocities.com/mageofthewinds/  
Feedback: Of course ^_^ Nataku@linkline.com  
Couples: 1+5 and 2+3+4 are making their way in slowly ^_^;;;  
In this chapter: S+9 and 2x4 implications, and a lil' 2+3 ^__^

Warning: Shounen-ai and cussing ^_^ my two favorite things  
Disclaimer: ...is long -_- I dun own anything. See first chapter for the full thingy.

**Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser**

Chapter Five

It was around eight when Trowa silently rounded up the other two boys and led them upstairs. Duo and Quatre didn't ask any questions as they were led into Trowa's room, only jumped over to him once Trowa was settled on his bed.

Quatre curled next to Trowa, and Duo behind him, idly playing with the curls of blonde hair on Quatre's neck.

Quatre blushed slightly but tilted his neck slightly into Duo's touch.

Trowa's lips twitched, but he didn't comment, only cleared his throat and picked up the story again.

~()~

Quinze stepped out of the black carriage with a look that gave one the impression that something nearby reeked terribly. He looked around the small village with a look of unbearable disgust, his eyes searching for someone to talk to that looked at least slightly intelligent.

It was hot out and the place had dirty children running around and _laughing. _In Quinze's opinion, children were only bearable if they were clean, silent and nowhere near him.

This was the third village he had been too, and he was getting quite tired of running this silly and pointless errand. The prince's instructions had only been to go find one 'Chang Wufei' in a west village...

...Of course, the prince didn't take the time to learn about his future kingdom and didn't know that there were at least _four_ western villages... _Nearby._

Quinze spotted a dark haired woman coming out of a rather large house. She looked clean enough...

"Excuse me, you, woman." Quinze called, walking quickly over to the woman.

The woman looked over his way, her eyebrow raised. She wore loose pants and a large man's shirt made of a thin fabric. Her thick purplish hair was cut short. In fact, the only thing that gave away as a woman was her bust, which was evident because the woman's shirt wasn't buttoned up all the way.

Quinze quickly looked away once he was in front of her. "Pardon me, but I'm looking for a young girl who might live near here, a Miss Wufei."

The woman crossed her arms over her chest, and Quinze allowed himself to look back at her. The woman looked at him oddly. "Wufei? You mean Mr. Chang's-"

"Noin!" A woman's voice called from inside. "Did you get them?" a woman walked out of the house. She had blonde hair that fell in twists on each shoulder. Her clothes were more modest then the first woman's, she wore loose pants and a full, thin shirt with a bodice to keep herself...hidden.

The woman looked at Quinze and blinked in surprise. "Oh, hello."

Quinze dipped his head, relieved that he was talking to someone more properly dressed. "Good afternoon."

"He's looking for a girl named Wufei," The woman called 'Noin' informed the blonde.

"Well, actually her name is Chang," Quinze informed them.

Noin laughed. "What? You mean Wufei! And Wufei's not-"

"-Far from here!" the blonde said quickly, smiling at Quinze. "But I can show you where _she_ is." She gave Noin a pointed look on 'she'.

Noin raised an eyebrow. "Sal, what are you-"

"I'll explain later, Dear," she said, not taking her eyes off of Quinze. "Shall we?" she said to him.

Quinze was still caught on 'Sal' calling Noin 'dear', but he nodded. "Please, Miss..." he trailed off.

The blonde woman smiled. "Please, just call me Sally. The Chang house isn't far, only a few minutes walk."

Quinze dipped his head. "Lead the way."

Before they left, Quinze looked back at Noin with a puzzled expression, only to see her starring at him with the exact same look.

~()~

Quatre giggled lightly. "I haven't seen Noin and Sally since the wedding."

Duo raised an eyebrow. "You talk to them all the time."

"That's through vid-phone! It doesn't count...they've been so busy lately... they hardly have time for each other...let alone company..." Quatre sighed.

Duo smiled and pinched Quatre lightly. "They'll be fine, don't worry about them! Worry 'bout 'fei! On with the story Tro'."

~()~

Wufei walked through the woods, his features set in a deep frown.

Hours of meditation and he was still left without any answers. He knew that he had to do something for Meiran, but he was at a loss for what. Maybe he could go with his father into town to search for a job...

"Wufei!"

Wufei looked up to see his mother running through the trees. He was near the house, she must have spotted him walking up. She looked nervous and it wasn't like his mother to...well, run.

"What is it?" Wufei asked worriedly, his former train of thought brining up worries for Meiran.

"Quickly, put these on. I'll explain while you dress," Wufei's mother ordered in a harsh whisper, thrusting a pile of clothes at him.

Wufei frowned as he realized that she had given him his dress from the party, and a horrible feeling of dread settled over him as she started explaining.

"One of the Prince's attendants is here, he says that the prince wants to meet with you," she said. "I don't like this...but we have no choice...try to be careful. If luck is with us, he'll be tired of you after a few hours."

Wufei finished dressing and nodded to his mother. She looked him over and frowned, but nodded back. Wufei followed her out of the woods and into the house, where a middle aged man with a sever expression was waiting with his father and a familiar woman.

"Good morning, Wufei," Sally greeted, an amused smirk on her face.

Wufei simmered inside. "This is a surprise, Miss Po. Or are you going by Noin now too?"

Sally and Wufei had something of a loving rivalry, similar to his with Meiran. Though Wufei and Sally's were more on the rivalry side. Oh, she was probably in heaven. Wufei would be hearing about this one for _years._

Sally laughed lightly. "It's still _Sally._ But on to business, I should be getting back." She stood and bowed to Wufei's mother. "It was nice to see you again, Mrs. Chang, please tell Meiran I said hello."

Wufei's mother smiled. "She will be sorry she missed you. Give my regards to Lucrezia."

Sally smiled, bowed again to Mrs. Chang, winked at Wufei, and then left.

Wufei scowled at the door before turning his attention to the man.

He stood from where he had been sitting and bowed his head slightly. "Miss Chang. I am Quinze, His Royal Highness' servant. Prince Heero would like you to join him this afternoon, I am to escort you."

Wufei gritted his teeth. _'The prince's errand boy is fetching me for a play date...hmm, an afternoon with a personality devoid, spoiled...'_

"Shall we?" Quinze held out a hand.

Wufei gritted his teeth and nodded before taking the man's hand.

'If I can make it through this, I can fake my own death in the morning...'

~

_'He's going for the right again...he's too predictable.'_ Heero thought. He easily dodged Zechs' attack and tripped the blonde as he fumbled past. Heero turned and looked down at Zechs.

The blonde groaned and rolled over. "Somehow, I always end up on my back...which in any other case, isn't a bad thing," he added the last with a smirk.

"Your eyes always flick to where you're going to attack," Heero said, ignoring Zechs' comment. "And you twitch before you do. I know when and where you'll attack." Heero crossed his arms.

Zechs sighed propped himself up on his elbows. "Can't we do something that I'm good at?" he asked, giving Heero a look that told him just what skill Zechs was talking about.

"I need a bath." Heero said, turning to leave.

"Perfect, I'll come with you." Zechs said, standing up.

Heero glared.

"Fine! I'll find someone else to bathe with..." Zechs said with a sigh.

Heero was about to leave when someone called out: "Excuse me"

Heero turned sharply. The training room was enclosed, and he hadn't heard anyone come in...

A girl stepped out from some shadows. Her footsteps were silent. "Quinze told me to look for you here."

Recognition hit Heero as the girl stepped into better light. "Chang? How long have you been there?"

~

Wufei had been in the shadows for nearly a half an hour, watching in amazement. Heero moved with sharpness and speed. He delivered blows with strength and precision...yet he held back...

"Only a few moments," Wufei lied, "Quinze told me that I'd find you here...Where did you learn those moves?" Wufei's mind didn't stray far from fighting.

Heero regarded Wufei for a few moments before answering. "We have a teacher here...he instructs the guards in unarmed combat as a requirement. Why?"

"It's different then what I learned. What is that called?"

"Judo...you understood what I said?" Heero asked.

Wufei frowned. "What?"

"What I said about the teacher, you understood?"

Wufei raised an eyebrow. "Yes..."

"You said you couldn't speak English well..."

Wufei's face dropped. _'Shit!!'_

"She's modest!" Said the blonde who was still lying on the floor. "What a relief from the vain bitches who parade around here."

Heero stopped staring at Wufei (much to his relief) to scowl at Zechs.

Zechs smirked and stood. "Don't tell Hilde I said that." He turned to Wufei. "I don't believe we've met. Since Heero is about as gentlemanly as a tree stump, I suppose I have to introduce myself. My name is Zechs Merquise. You must be this Chang that I would have heard everything about if it were anybody other then Heero that had an interest in you. It's a pleasure, Miss Wufei." Zechs bowed low.

"Please, just call me Wufei. And Chang is my surname," Wufei said, unimpressed by Zechs' little show.

Zechs straightened. "Is that so? Wufei is a much prettier name, I'm glad to hear it's not your last. Well, I should go. I have to find a bath companion before it gets too late." He winked at Wufei. "I have to catch them before they go home to their wives." With that, the blonde left.

Wufei watched him go with a scowl. _'Wufei is _not_ a pretty name...'_ He thought. Wufei turned back to Heero, who was already looking his way. It made the hairs on Wufei's neck prickle.

After a moment of silence, Heero walked closer. "You said you learned differently then Judo? What did you learn?"

"Tai Chi Chuan." Wufei answered automatically, mentally shaking out thoughts of Zechs.

"Tai Chi Chuan..." Heero said carefully, trying to pronounce it. "Show me."

Wufei's eyes widened slightly. "Excuse me?"

"We'll have a match." Heero said, moving to the center of the training floor.

Wufei clenched his hands into fists. He had no problem going out there and beating the aggravating prince to a bloody pulp, and he wanted to test himself against...was it Judo? But what if he hurt Heero? Sure, it could mean an end to having to see him, but it could also mean the end of Wufei's life.

"What if I hurt you?" Wufei asked, staying where he was.

Heero snorted. "I don't think you have to worry about that."

Wufei clenched his jaw. _'We'll see about that...'_

~()~

"Tro'." Duo whispered.

"Hm?" Trowa looked over.

Duo smiled softly. "He's asleep," he whispered, tilting his head slightly at Quatre.

Trowa looked down to see that Quatre's eyes were closed, and his chest rose and fell in slow, even breaths.

A slight smile tugged at Trowa's lips. He nodded and slid out of bed before bending down and gathering Quatre up in his arms. Trowa carried Quatre into his own room and placed him on the bed.

Duo followed behind. When Trowa took a few steps back, the braided boy stepped forward to tuck Quatre in. He did it gently, with care, kneeling beside the bed even after the blonde was settled.

"He's cute, isn't he?" Duo said softly, keeping his voice low. He tilted his head slightly and lifted a hand to gently caress Quatre's cheek. "And sweet..." His thumb traced over Quatre's lip, before Duo removed his hand and stood up.

He turned and looked at Trowa. A serene, thoughtful look on his face, so unlike the usual joking, boyish expressions he usually held. "Why didn't you push him away, Tro'?"

"Hm?"

Duo took a step forward. "When he kissed you, why didn't you stop him?"

Trowa's lip twitched. "He told you?"

Duo nodded.

"He didn't really give me a chance to," Trowa said softly.

Duo smiled softly and looked down. "What about me?"

A chill went up Trowa's spine. "What?"

"Would you push me away?" Duo asked, looking up.

Trowa didn't answer.

"I'm giving you the chance now..." Duo whispered softly, stepping closer. "You can tell me to stop...if you want to."

Trowa stood still.

Duo grinned wolfishly and took the final step forward. He lifted a hand and placed it on the back of Trowa's neck, gently pulling him down to place a soft kiss on his lips. He held there for a second, grinned against Trowa's mouth, and then pulled back.

"G'Night Tro'." With a wink, Duo was gone.

To be continued!

Next chapter:  
In which Wufei and Heero have a roll in the hay... literally.


	6. Chapter Six

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nataku's Child  
Archive: Nikki's Realm http://www.geocities.com/mageofthewinds/ (It's down at the moment)  
Feedback: Please!! ^___^ Nataku@linkline.com  
Warnings: Shounen-ai and maybe cussing ^_^;; I dun remember  
Couples: You should know by now!

Disclaimer: I dun own it, that I don't. If you sue me, I'll be sad, that I will. Any resemblance to people (dead, living or fictional) or events (other then afore mentioned Ever After/Cinderella plot) is regrettable and unintentional. This is for my enjoyment (maybe yours as well) only, no harm!

Story Time With Trowa  
or  
Once Upon a Cross Dresser

Chapter Six

Duo slumped tiredly into the kitchen, his eyes drooping and his shoulders hunched. He couldn't believe Monday had already come around again, it seemed like only yesterday it was the weekend...

Wait...

Oh yeah...

Duo sighed and shook his head, trudging over to the coffee maker. He heard the water turn on the other side of the house and in the back of his mind, Duo figured Quatre was taking his shower...

Quatre...

A grin over came Duo's Monday induced grim face as he thought of the blonde...and that one Saturday night...

The door swung open and Duo turned to greet Trowa, grin still intact. He was surprise to see a sleep mussed Quatre, smiling warmly.

"I let Trowa take the first shower," Quatre explained, shuffling over to the fridge for his morning juice. When he passed Duo, he looked over his shoulder and smiled. "It's nice to see you smiling in the morning...especially Monday morning." He said softly before opening up the fridge.

Duo grinned and walked over, sliding his arms around Quatre's waist and placing his chin on the blonde's shoulder from behind. "I was just thinking about Saturday," he murmured in Quatre's ear. Duo grinned as he could feel Quatre's cheeks warm. He laughed lightly and pressed a quick kiss to a pink cheek, then went to check on the coffee.

Quatre finished getting his juice, cheeks still pink but with a slight smile on his lips.

Trowa came in shortly afterward, looking damp and refreshed. Duo ran out the door as soon as he did, leaving half a mug of coffee on the table, only calling: "I call next shower!" as he ran out.

Quatre glared at the door, looking more like the kitten twisting around his ankles then a threat.

Trowa shook his head, smiling softly as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

~

Duo bounced into Quatre's office, smiling. "Lunch break Q! Let's go bug Trowa for more story!"

Quatre looked up from where he was signing papers and blinked. "Duo? It's lunch already? I feel like I haven't done anything..."

Duo sighed and rolled his eyes. He strolled over and perched himself on top of Quatre's desk. "You've probably done more work already then I'll do all day." He said, eyeing the stack of papers already signed by the young politician.

Trowa, Duo and Quatre all worked at the Preventer's head office, and had been since they got out of college nearly a year ago. Trowa had moved up in rank, becoming one of the board members in a matter of weeks. Quatre didn't move to far, only paid his dues to the organization while keeping busy with the family business. Duo stayed exactly where he was, content with a job that paid enough for him to pay the rent, while demanding as little actual work as possible.

Quatre smiled softly. "Have you done _anything _today?"

Duo grinned. "Besides copying pictures of my ass to send to Une as a prank? No...but I did write her a nice formal letter asking her for her 'honest opinion of the enclosed documents'."

Quatre laughed, flipping idly through his papers.

Duo grinned cheekily and slid off the desk, making his way around until he was at Quatre's side. He gave Quatre's chair a push, making it swivel to face him. Duo slid onto the chair, a knee on each side of Quatre in the oversized chair, straddled the blonde's lap.

"You wanna see 'em? I think they came out pretty good." Duo whispered jokingly, a few inches away from Quatre's face.

Quatre blushed and look down.

Duo grinned and tipped up Quatre's chin to kiss him softly. When he pulled back, Duo grinned again. "Let's go to lunch!"

Quatre only nodded, not really able to speak.

With the help of Quatre, Duo was able to convince Trowa to join them. He dragged the other boys to a small pizza place not far from their office building. It wasn't very quiet, but it had a kind of warm and friendly atmosphere to it. Duo ordered for everyone and took it outside so they could sit in peace.

When they were settled, Quatre smiled at Trowa. "So..."

Trowa swallowed his bite of pizza and smiled softly. "So this is why Duo treated us to lunch?"

Duo looked innocent. "What are you saying? I wanted you here for the joy of your company... that doesn't mean you don't have to tell the story, of course."

Trowa shook his head, a small smile on his lips.

~()~

When we left Wufei and Heero, they were about to spar, right?

Right...

Heero stood at a ready stance on one side of the room. Wufei walked to the side across from him, keeping his eyes on Heero, but his mind centered.

'Only defense, don't hurt him... Well, maybe a little offense... Just show him that you're better then him.' Wufei told himself as he cleared his mind of all other thought.

Wufei got into the best position he could in the confines of the dress.

Heero and Wufei stood their ground, eyes locked. They held for a few tense moments, sizing up, analyzing, eyes locked the entire time.

Heero finally broke his stance and moved forward, aiming a blow at Wufei's stomach. Wufei quickly moved to block and then slid into a crouch to sweep Heero's feet from under him, but Heero jumped over his leg, rolling when he hit the floor to spring up, unharmed.

Wufei straightened back in to the ready position, his eyes narrowed on Heero. Heero himself was watching Wufei closely, an odd look on his face.

Wufei snapped a quick punch at Heero's chest, meaning to divert his attention from his other hand. But Heero was fast, faster then Wufei had judged. Before Wufei could stop him, Heero had his hand trapped painfully behind his back. Wufei was gritting his teeth and trying to think of a way to get out of the hold, when someone screamed.

"HEERO!!"

Wufei turned to see who had shouted. Heero's grip slackened, keeping Wufei's arm trapped, but no longer in pain.

A girl with short bluish-black hair stood in the doorway, looking horrified. "What are you _doing_!?" she screeched, jogging over. "Let her go!"

Heero dropped Wufei's arm with a sigh that almost sounded like a growl.

Wufei stood up and absently rubbed at his wrist.

The girl bowed her head slightly to Wufei, still glaring at Heero. "I'm Hilde, the sister of this brute."

Wufei started to bow, but the girl laughed, dropping her scowl to smile at Wufei. "There's no need for that, no one's around." She turned a stern eye back on Heero. "You! I didn't say anything when you started bulling around Zechs, but now innocent girls?"

Heero crossed his arms and glared at his sister, his mouth staying shut.

"I offered," Wufei said quickly.

Hilde looked back at Wufei, stunned. "You...what?"

"I offered. I saw Zechs and his highness sparring and I wanted to try," Wufei explained, struggling to keep his voice soft and musical. It got harder the more he tried to say.

Hilde looked at Heero, then back to Wufei, to Heero and then Wufei and rested there. She sighed. "Fine...if you still want to fight, at least let me get you some more appropriate clothing, you're getting that filthy." She said, waving to Wufei's dress.

Wufei looked down to see his mother's beautiful, rare, handmade silk dress covered in a fine layer of dust. His eyes widened and he paled slightly.

"Holy shit... I can't believe I just ruined it! Mother's going to kill me and I doubt she'll make another. What am I supposed to wear when I'm on these godforsaken play-dates? And-" Wufei shut his mouth quickly. Well, he _had_ been ranting in Cantonese, so the others wouldn't understand him...he hoped.

Wufei looked up to see Hilde looking shocked and Heero watching him with that odd look again.

After a moment's silence, Hilde asked, "What _was_ that?"

Wufei looked down. "Cantonese." He said softly.

"What did you say?" Heero asked, the first words out of his mouth since Hilde had joined them.

'You're a prick,' Wufei thought wickedly before saying out loud, "That my mother will be angry with me. The silk is rare, she only made me this one."

Hilde smiled warmly. "Don't worry about it! Come on, I'll get ya something you can play-"

"Spar," Heero growled.

"-in, and I'll have someone clean that for you." She finished, ignoring Heero.

"Thank you." Wufei dipped his head and allowed Hilde to take his elbow and drag him away.

Even after they had gone, Heero's eyes lingered on the spot where Wufei had disappeared.

~()~

Trowa stopped talking and drank from the cup in front of him.

"We should be getting back," Quatre said reluctantly, standing up and gathering their plates.

Duo groaned but helped Quatre, picking up the cups to dispose of. "Work sucks..." he mumbled. "Can't we just ditch, go to the park and hear more of the story?"

Trowa's lip twitched. "No, but if you go back to work without another complaint, I'll tell more as soon as we get home."

"Deal!" Duo said with a wink, grabbing the pizza tray off of the table. "And I'll make ya stick to it! You'd better... I don't want to have to punish you," he said with a wicked smirk before disappearing into the pizza parlor to give back the tray.

~

Duo had a hard time concentrating at work. His mind was filled with not only the story but with the two other men he currently shared a small house with. But someway or another, he made it through until quitting time. As soon as his watch hit five, Duo rushed out of his office to gather up the others, not stopping to let Quatre 'just do one more thing' or Trowa finish his 'very important meeting'...

'What lame excuses...' Duo thought as he dragged Trowa out of a board meeting.

When they got home, Duo dragged them into the house.

"Okay, okay Duo!" Quatre said, laughing. "We're home now! You can stop!"

Duo let go of them with a grin.

"I'll make us some tea," Quatre said, shaking his head as he made his way to the kitchen.

Duo started to follow but Trowa held him back. "That was an important meeting," he said, frowning.

Duo smiled slowly. "I'll make it up to you," he promised in a low voice. When Trowa's hand dropped from his shoulder, Duo grinned and walked after Quatre.

Trowa watched him go for a second before shaking his head sharply and following after.

Once the tea was made and the boys settled, Trowa started the story again.

~()~

Wufei took the soft, light clothing from Hilde with a slight bow.

"Stop that!" Hilde said with a laugh.

Wufei faked a smile and turned to go into the changing room that Hilde had led him to. Hilde seemed okay at first, but after a while of her constant chatter, Wufei was glad to have a moment's privacy. But as he started to walk into the room, he noticed that Hilde followed him.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"In there with you..." she said, as though it were obvious. "It's no big deal, we're both girls, you don't have anything I haven't seen before. Besides, I need to take your dress."

Wufei thought quickly. "I...I'm not really comfortable..." he said slowly.

Hilde rolled her eyes. "Oh fine, just give me your clothes when you get out."

Wufei bowed slightly and went into the changing room, closing the door on Hilde's "stop that!"

He changed quickly, feeling relieved and a lot more comfortable in the soft cotton pants and shirt. He looked at the beanbags that would be his bust and sighed. It would be almost impossible to fight in them, but it would be obvious if he didn't wear them...

Finally he decided to leave them behind and talk to his mother about a better design when he got home.

"Are you okay?" Hilde's voice called through the door.

"Yes!" Wufei called back as he searched for a place to hide his boobs.

He settled on a small cabinet, behind some towels. _'Please no one look there!' _he thought fervently. He grabbed his dress and held it over his chest before opening the door.

Hilde was nearby. She smiled and held her arms out for the dress. "Don't worry about those getting dirty."

Wufei gave her the clothes, and then crossed his arms over his chest. While Heero didn't strike him as the kind of person to notice his lack of fullness, Hilde might.

Hilde tilted her head towards the direction they came. "Ya know the way?"

Wufei bowed slightly and made his way back to Heero.

"Stop that!" Hilde called after him.

~

Heero was doing push-ups when Wufei came back.

Wufei silently stepped into the covered area. The room they were in was odd, probably designed just for sparring. It wasn't very big, but not exactly small. It was empty, and the floor was only packed earth. It was made of wood, with open slots near the high ceiling for ventilation. There wasn't much light, just enough to see by and it was a relief from the bright sun.

Wufei liked the room, though he wasn't sure why.

Heero didn't notice him come in, and he continued with his push-ups. He didn't count, only silently, consistently rising and falling. He had discarded his shirt, the forgotten clothing tossed to the corner. All that was left were soft cotton pants, the same that Wufei now wore. For a moment, Wufei's mind went once again to Heero's strength, and he wondered just how many push-ups the prince had done already.

Wufei shook his head and cleared his throat.

Heero stopped and looked over at Wufei. "You've changed." He stated unnecessarily before getting up. "Good." He walked over to stand in a ready position on his side of the room.

Wufei nodded and got into a ready position on his side.

There was a moment of stillness, and a sense of comfort flowed into Wufei. Maybe it was the room, the clothes, or the knowledge that he was fighting someone who actually challenged his skill. But Wufei felt...at home.

Heero attacked quickly, moving forward and bringing an arm down to chop at Wufei's neck. Wufei acted quickly. With his new freedom of movement he was able to grab Heero's hand and use his momentum against him to throw him off balance. Heero fell to the ground, his eyes slightly wide in shock. Wufei quickly stood and bowed.

Heero looked up at him from the ground, his face showing nothing.

The hair on Wufei's neck began to prickle. Had he been too hard on Heero? Had he wounded the prince? Body or pride?

Then, to Wufei's astonishment, Heero smiled.

Now, granted, it wasn't a grin, or even really a smile. It was the smallest twitch at the corner of his mouth, the slightest curling of the lips... But it was a smile.

Heero stood and went to his side of the room, stood ready, and nodded.

Wufei's lip twitched. He got into the ready position and nodded.

~

"I'm telling you Zechs, the chick is off! She was fighting with Heero, she freaked when I started to follow her to change! I swear, she's nuts." Hilde complained, following after a half naked Zechs.

Zechs laughed his deep, throaty laugh. "She's modest, I knew that already. And there _are_ women that learn to fight." Zechs went into his room, Hilde following.

"Well, yeah..._I guess_..." Hilde said, flopping down on Zechs' bed as he disappeared into his closet to change out of the towel he had around his waist.

"You're just worried about your brother, you don't like seeing him with a girl. It's sweet really." Zechs called from the closet.

Hilde sat up on the bed and stuck her tongue out at the door. "I am not! I don't give a crap about who he plays with."

"Language, Dear Princess." Zechs scolded, coming out of the closet. "And it's sparring, not playing."

"Whatever..."

Zechs smirked and looked back at the closet door he just came out of. "Déjà vu."

"What?"

"Nothing..."

~()~

Duo laughed for a good few minutes.

"What?" Quatre asked, looking from a red faced Duo to a slightly smiling Trowa. "What's so funny?"

Duo wiped his eyes. "That was the lamest joke, Trowa."

"I thought you'd like it."

"I loved it!" Duo said with a grin.

Quatre sighed and gave up trying to understand.

~()~

Wufei and Heero sparred for hours. By the end of the day, they were both covered in dust and oddly comfortable around each other. The darkness in the room was getting worse, to where they had to stay semi close together to see one another. Wufei and Heero sat against the wall, catching their breath.

They didn't count wins and losses, only knew that they came at about even. Where Heero was slightly stronger, Wufei was slightly more skilled. Wufei expected Heero to be angry that someone was able to beat him, but he had seemed almost happy.

"It's been a long time since I've had a challenge." He had explained.

Now they sat in silence, in the growing dark of the dim training room. They were close, Wufei could tell, though by now he couldn't see. In the back of his mind, Wufei wondered how he was going to get out of the room when he couldn't see more then a foot in front of him.

"I want you to come again tomorrow." Heero's voice came out of the darkness.

Wufei's first reaction was to be angry or upset about having to come back... but he wasn't. Heero wanted to see him again...and he wanted to see Heero. He wasn't what Wufei had thought him to be at first. It wasn't that he was dull and rude, it was that he didn't express himself through words, only through his body...

And though he wouldn't admit it, that intrigued Wufei.

"Alright," Wufei finally answered.

Suddenly, the door slid open and the light from an oil lamp flooded into the darkness. Zechs stood in the opening, a hand on his hip. "Well, well...this is where you are..." he said in a slightly teasing voice.

Wufei felt like glaring, but his eyes hurt from the sudden light and it would probably be unladylike anyway.

"I was sent to come fetch you for dinner...but I see that you're busy..." Zechs said.

Wufei could almost feel Zechs' wicked smirk. He looked over and saw just how close he and Heero were. Their sides were almost touching.

~()~

Quatre smiled. "Well, finally we're somewhat getting to the romance!"

"And some of the yaoi." Duo added. "Though it'd been nice to know if Zechs found a bath buddy."

Trowa smiled slightly and stood. "I think I'll start dinner."

Duo stretched. "Alright...I could go for another shower... care to join me, Q?"

Trowa froze and Quatre blushed. "What?" they asked together.

Duo laughed and stood. "Come with..." he said slowly. He grabbed Quatre's wrists and, smirking slyly, started to pull him out of the room.

Quatre laughed and blushed brightly as he was pulled away.

Trowa watched them go, his mouth slightly open in shock. There was pressure on his leg and he looked down to see little Kobi twining around his ankles.

"What just happened?" Trowa asked the kitten.

Kobi just mewed and padded over to his food bowl. Trowa shook his head, smiled, and went to go feed Quatre's kitten.

To be continued!

Next Chapter:  
In which Heero shows Wufei just how interested he is.


	7. Chapter Seven

::Waves excitedly to readers:: Hello! I'm just putting in a small note before the fic to thank you all for giving me such wonderful reviews! It means so much to me and helps keep me dedicated to this fic! ::huggles reviewers…hell, huggles anyone who's reading this fic!:: I love you all and hope you like the new chapter!  
~Nataku's Child

PS I was thinking of starting a notify list of some sort (since I can't afford the FF.net subscription for update alerts ^_^;;;) is anyone interested?

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nataku's Child  
Archive: My site, but it's down ^_^;; http://www.geocities.com/mageofthewinds/  
Feedback: Of course ^_^ Nataku@linkline.com  
Couples: 1+5 (Eventually! I swear!) 2x4 (implied) and 2+4+3

Disclaimer: I dun own it, that I don't. If you sue me, I'll be sad, that I will. Any resemblance to people (dead, living or fictional) or events (other then afore mentioned Ever After/Cinderella plot) is regrettable and unintentional. This is for my enjoyment (maybe yours as well) only, no harm!  


Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Chapter Seven

Quatre sat on the couch, absently petting the cat in his lap. Kobi purred softly, curled up and falling asleep to Quatre's stroking. Duo was upstairs checking his e-mail and Trowa was out grocery shopping, leaving Quatre with some private time. Which was a relief, since he had a lot to think about.

Things seemed to be moving so fast. Quatre was confused... but strangely happy. He and Duo had been intimate twice. Intimate... That seemed to be the only word for it. He couldn't call it making love, because although he cared deeply for Duo -and Duo, for Quatre- he couldn't truthfully say he was in love. Yet. But on the other end, it was more then just sex, it was... what?

But Quatre almost didn't want to think about it. Duo made him happy. He felt warm, content and comfortable when Duo held him, kissed him, joked with him, teased him... Maybe they were in love... Oh! It was just too complicated... but then... strangely simple...

And there was Trowa...

What would he do about Trowa? That one innocent peck on the cheek was all he could bring himself to do. Duo had told him about his kissing Trowa, that Trowa hadn't stopped him. Duo had told him in full detail, remembering the brief moment with a slight smile on his lips.

Quatre sighed softly. Duo had told Trowa more in that one kiss then Quatre had said since they moved in together... Duo was so much more daring then he was, he could never be so bold...

Quatre felt the same for Trowa as he did for Duo, but lacked the courage to do anything about it. He and Duo talked a lot about Trowa. Duo often joked about 'wanting in Tro's pants', but Quatre could tell that he felt more then physical attraction... the same as Quatre himself felt for the both of them.

"What do you think, Kobi?" Quatre asked softly, gently nudging the dozing kitten.

Half of a sleepy eye opened. Kobi glared and batted at Quatre's hand before turning the other way to sleep again.

Quatre laughed lightly and started petting Kobi again until he purred and fell back to sleep.

'I want to tell Trowa how I feel... I have_ to tell Trowa how I feel...' _Quatre thought, frowning slightly in thought.

The blonde was still sitting on the couch, absently stroking Kobi and thinking, when Trowa came home. Kobi heard him before Quatre did. The kitten suddenly jumped up and half ran, half stretched toward the door. A second later, the door opened and Trowa walked in, laden with grocery bags.

Quatre jumped up and took a few bags from the slightly strained Trowa. "Hi Trowa," he greeted with a smile. "Is this it?"

"Yeah," Trowa said as he tried to get into the kitchen without stepping on Kobi, who was twining around his ankles and purring loudly.

Quatre followed him into the kitchen and sniffed at the bag he held. A delicious smell was coming from it, and the bag was warm. Quatre peeked inside to see little paper boxes in various sizes. "Chinese food?"

Trowa smiled softly. "Duo asked. I think the story got him thinking."

Quatre smiled and put the bag on the table. He stared down at it for a while as Trowa put away the groceries.

It was the perfect time. They were alone, which didn't happen very often, and the thoughts on his feelings were still fresh in his mind.

'Just tell him Quatre!'

"Quatre?"

Quatre blinked and turned to Trowa. The boy was watching him, his eyebrows slightly down turned in concern. "Are you alright?"

Quatre swallowed. _'Now... tell him...'_ He took a step forward. He was shaking a little. "Trowa... I..."

Trowa watched him carefully. His beautiful, deep green eyes were worried. He lifted his arm and placed a hand on Quatre's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

The warmth of Trowa's hand on his shoulder made Quatre feel a little lightheaded. Trowa was so caring, so gentle... But before he could say anything, Quatre's courage ran out. "I should go get Duo." He blurted out quickly, and nearly ran from the room.

He didn't stop running until he got to Duo's room, and then it was only to open the door. He flung himself on Duo's bed and hid his face in his pillow. The sheets smelled distinctly of Duo, which was slightly comforting.

"Quatre?" Duo's voice called softly. The bed dipped slightly next to him and a hand started to stroke his hair. "Q, what's wrong?"

Quatre sat up, keeping his eyes down. "I tried to tell him..." he said sadly. "But I couldn't..."

Duo smiled and reached over to gently stroke Quatre's cheek with his thumb. "Don't worry about it kid, he's not going anywhere."

Quatre sighed and leaned into the touch. "I know...but I want to tell him... don't you?"

Duo's hand dropped. He looked down. "Yeah... but..." He glanced up and gave Quatre a shy smile. "I guess I'm afraid."

Quatre laughed out of surprise.

Duo grinned and pushed Quatre gently, making the boy laugh more. "Shut up! It happens!" Duo said, laughing too.

There was a knock at the door. "Quatre? Duo? It's getting cold," Trowa called.

Quatre paled slightly.

Duo stopped laughing. "K...kay Trowa, we'll be out in a sec..."

When they heard Trowa leave, Quatre turned to Duo. "Do you think he heard us?"

"Well...it'd save us the trouble of talking to him..." Duo said nervously, though he sounded worried too. After a moment, he sighed. "We will tell him. We can do it together...later."

"You mean after dinner?"

"I was thinking more like next week..."

Quatre smiled and shook his head, though he didn't entirely disagree.

~

They ate in an odd silence.

Trowa watched Duo and Quatre, wondering why the kitchen wasn't filled with its usual warm chatter. Their talk had always comforted Trowa. After years of silent loneliness, Duo's joking, boyish voice and Quatre's light, warm one were music to Trowa, filling the days and nights with life. The room felt hollow when it wasn't filled with conversation.

Trowa's eyes flickered from Duo to Quatre. Something was wrong, and it had started with Quatre's odd behavior when he had come home.

Trowa's mind had been working non-stop since he had begun the story. Duo and Quatre had grown closer since it started, but until the other day, Trowa hadn't known exactly how close that was. After Duo's shower invitation, however, Trowa had a pretty good idea.

It made him feel so... alone. So left out.

Trowa had agreed to move in with the other two because over the years he had grown to love them as brothers. But as he spent more time with them, that love somehow changed. He no longer thought of them as brothers or close friends, but something deeper... though he wasn't sure what to call it. He enjoyed telling the story more then he let on. When they sat close, listening intently, laughing and joking, smiling and sighing... he felt close to them.

But now this... this was awkward.

Finally, to Trowa's great relief, Duo broke the silence. "Done!" He announced, grinning. "And stuffed."

Quatre put down his chopsticks. "Me to," he said with a happy sigh.

Trowa smiled slightly. "That's too bad, you wont want your fortune cookies then..." he said, reaching for one of the plastic wrapped treats.

Duo laughed, a sound that made the room seem less empty. "Forget that! You ain't gettin' my cookie!" He grabbed one and unwrapped it.

Quatre glared jokingly at Trowa. "Nice try..." he grabbed his own and began unwrapping it.

Trowa was glad that the tension seemed to have been broken. He cracked open his cookie and stuck one half in his mouth as he read his fortune.

"Wha'zit say?" Duo asked Trowa, mouth full of cookie. He leaned over and tried to read it.

"It says: 'Changes will bring happiness your way'." Trowa read aloud.

Duo grinned and looked at Quatre. "What about yours?"

Quatre read: "'Face your obstacles with courage'." He turned to Duo and smiled, laughing a little.

Duo grinned brightly and looked down at his. "Mine says: 'Please try again'...hey!"

Quatre started laughing, the joyous sound filling the room. Duo joined him, eventually holding his stomach when it started to hurt. They laughed until their eyes watered.

Trowa watched them, laughing silently.

As the laughs finally died down, they gathered up their plates and put away any leftovers. When that was done, Trowa walked into the living room and sat in the big chair. Duo and Quatre followed, still laughing lightly.

Duo noticed Trowa sitting in the chair and grinned. "More story?"

Trowa smiled slightly and nodded.

Quatre smiled brightly and Duo ran over to sit cross-legged on the floor near Trowa's feet, his back against the couch. He motioned Quatre over enthusiastically. Quatre laughed lightly, walked over and shyly sat in Duo's lap. The braided boy's arms slid around Quatre's waist, holding him close.

Trowa swallowed and concentrated on the story, not the cold loneliness that tried to creep into his heart. He cleared his throat.

~()~

Days, weeks, almost a month went by.

Wufei went to the castle nearly every day. Not because Heero wanted him to, or because of his sister's illness, or even to keep up the lie that was himself in Heero's eyes. He went because he actually started liking Heero. Not love of course. Love was the thing furthest from Wufei's mind. It wasn't even the kind of like that is connected to love. He just genuinely enjoyed spending time with Heero. They were friends.

Heero had become a lot easier to be around, once Wufei got to know him better. Most of the things that put him off about Heero in the beginning, Wufei learned were just little bad habits that Heero had picked up that no one had dared to correct.

Six days a week, Wufei went to the castle. Heero was always waiting for him in the dim room, quietly sitting against a wall, apparently doing nothing other then waiting. Out of all the times Wufei had visited the palace, there was only one occasion when Heero had not been waiting for him when he got there.

It was like any other summer day. The sun had grown hot and Wufei was glad for the sanctuary of the wooden room. He slid open the heavy wooden door and stepped inside. Once the door was closed, he had to wait a few moments for his eyes to adjust. When they did, Wufei was surprised to see an empty room. Frowning, Wufei stepped into the room, squinting into the shadowed corners. But Heero wasn't there.

The illogically disturbing thought that Heero had forgotten about him entered Wufei's mind. He shook it off, telling himself firmly that even if Heero had gotten bored of him, it was good thing. It meant he could go home.

When Wufei was sure Heero wasn't there, he sighed. _'He has fifteen minutes. After that, I leave.'_

Wufei moved to the middle of the floor and sat to wait. His mother had fashioned new breasts for him. These were two separate pieces that were bound against his chest with long strips of cotton. He barely noticed the new ones, and they were a lot more comfortable. He wore his everyday clothing, which were already designed for training. In his old clothes, with breasts he couldn't feel, Wufei almost felt normal, almost himself. The only things of his faux womanhood left were the breasts and his voice, which he kept high and quiet. It was a hassle, but he didn't think Heero was _that_ ignorant.

After a few moments of waiting, it dawned on Wufei that he hadn't meditated much since he started seeing Heero. With nothing else to do, Wufei closed his eyes and slowed his breathing until he felt a distinct feeling of calm and awareness. He let his awareness go and just focused on calming his thoughts and his body.

Time passed unnoticed. He lost count of breathes as his mind drifted...

"Wufei?"

Wufei's eyes snapped open and his body tensed. There was a stiffness in his limbs, which meant that he had been there a while... longer then fifteen minutes.

Heero was looking at him oddly again, but Wufei had gotten used to it by then. Heero was crouching a few feet away from him. Wufei hadn't even heard him come in.

"Were you sleeping?" Heero asked sounding slightly amused.

"No," Wufei snapped, angry that Heero had startled him. "I was meditating."

Heero sat from where he was crouching. "Meditating?"

"When you clear your mind to focus or relax...you never learned?" Wufei asked.

Heero shook his head. "I don't need to relax." He said, looking defensive.

"That's a joke..." Wufei said, smirking darkly at Heero's glare. "Besides, I also said focus, you weren't paying attention."

"I was paying attention," Heero said, folding his arms. "You were making excuses for sleeping."

Wufei glared and then smirked darkly again. "It helps with martial arts...I'm surprised you never tried." He purposefully put a note of condescendence in his voice.

Heero stopped glaring and dropped his arms. "How so?" he asked doubtfully.

"It clears your mind so that you can focus completely on the match," Wufei explained.

Heero thought it over for a moment. "Teach me, I'll try it."

Wufei had gotten used to Heero's blunt orders, it was one of those little bad habits. They had gotten considerably more comfortable. Wufei was no longer afraid of being hung if he said something to offend his royal highness. In fact, they often joked and taunted, it came naturally after fighting so long at an equal level. Though they weren't as openly joking as say, you Duo, but between Wufei's wit and Heero's dry sarcasm, they had their own comfortable banter.

Wufei nodded to Heero. "Fine. Sit like I am... No, sit up straight."

Heero glared and straightened.

"It doesn't matter how you put your hands, as long as they're comfortable," Wufei instructed. "Right. Now close your eyes." Wufei paused a moment. "Take notice of your breathing. If it's too fast, slow it down until your breathing calmly as though sleeping. Don't smile."

"I'm not smiling."

"Don't _smirk_ then. This isn't sleeping." Wufei said sternly. Once Heero's breathing slowed, Wufei continued. "Now clear your mind of all thought. You wont be able to do it at first, but be patient. Every time you find yourself thinking, let it go and bring yourself back to emptiness."

Wufei watched Heero carefully as he tried. Every few seconds, Heero frowned and took a deep breath. After a few minutes, Heero's forehead was wrinkled in frustration and his jaw and eyelids were clenched tightly.

"Relax," Wufei said, his voice smooth and firm, like his mother's was when she had taught Meiran and himself. "Don't try to do it. If you're trying, then you're thinking. Let your mind do it by itself. _Feel_ it clear, don't force it."

Heero looked like he tried to relax, but there was still a tenseness to his shoulders. After a few more attempts, he gave up. He opened his eyes and glared so fiercely that it caught Wufei off guard. "This is bull shit!" Heero growled, standing up. "That's impossible and you were sleeping!"

"Stop acting like a child!" Wufei snapped, standing up as well. "It's not impossible! It just takes time!" He frowned in thought. "Though it should be easier for you, since you've studied martial arts for so long... you need to relax and allow yourself to stop thinking."

"That's not as easy as you make it sound!" Heero growled. He walked to one side of the room. His back to Wufei, he said, "I can't stop thinking..." his voice sounded odd... strained and tired. After a moment, he turned, his face blank again. "Let's spar."

Wufei frowned a moment before nodding. "We can try meditation again tomorrow," he said before getting into a ready position.

And they did try again the next day...and the day after that, and then the next after that, and the next after that...

Heero didn't change. In fact, he seemed more aggravated as the days went by. It troubled Wufei, as did other things. Heero always looked tired and he was distracted when he sparred, the latter made Wufei the most worried.

On the fifth day after their first meditation attempt, Wufei was fed up. Heero was on his back for the fourth time in a row, his mind being so distracted and tired that Wufei was winning easily and without effort.

Wufei glared down at the fallen Heero, his arms crossed. "This is ridiculous." He said, not offering Heero a hand up. "You're not even worth my energy." He said coldly before walking past Heero to the door.

"Wait!" Heero called.

Wufei turned his head slightly. "I'm not going to take part in your masochistic game anymore. Or is it that you like the taste of dirt?"

"Cocky little..." Heero growled, walking over to stand between Wufei and the door.

Wufei glared at Heero, his arms still crossed. "I've lost my patience with you, Your Highness." He said coldly.

Heero looked away, his jaw clenched.

Wufei noted the dark circles under Heero's eyes with a sigh of annoyance. "What's wrong?"

Heero looked back at Wufei, still clenched and looking frustrated, but silent.

Wufei dropped his hands as his anger flared again. "Well if you're not going to tell me then let me leave!" he shouted and tried to get past Heero.

Heero grabbed Wufei's arm to stop him.

Wufei stopped and sighed before turning, his eyes blazing with anger. He was tired of all this... run... around... why was Heero so close?

Wufei had turned only to be inches away from Heero. The prince had that look in his eye again. It made Wufei nervous, the way he was looking at him so intently without saying a word. He was about to demand an explanation, but didn't get the chance.

In a heartbeat, Heero leaned down and pressed his lips against Wufei's.

Wufei's eyes widened considerably. _'What the hell?!'_

Heero's hand was still on his arm and he was only a few inches away. Wufei needed only to twitch his finger to touch the cloth of Heero's sparring clothes. The dim of the room and the bittersweet smell of sweat and dirt mixed with the heat of Heero's body was making Wufei's head spin.

He snapped out of his shock and roughly pushed Heero away, making the other boy stumble backwards and almost fall.

Wufei's face was burning in a mix of embarrassment and rage. He opened his mouth to say something, but his mind was a jumbled mess, unable to form words. He shut his jaw with a snap and ran out, slamming the door behind him.

~()~

Quatre laughed lightly. "Poor Wufei."

Trowa looked over. He found it easier to think when he wasn't looking at the other boys when telling the story.

Quatre still sat on Duo's lap. His head was leaning back slightly onto Duo's shoulder, so their cheeks pressed up against each other slightly. Duo was chuckling lightly and absently playing with Quatre's hand, which he held in his own.

Trowa's heart ached as he looked at them. They were so comfortable, so happy.

Trowa looked away and stood up.

Duo blinked and Quatre sat up slightly in his lap.

"Where you goin', Tro'?" asked Duo.

"To bed..." Trowa said distractedly before leaving the room.

~

Duo watched Trowa leave, frowning slightly. "Night..." he said softly as he heard Trowa's door close.

"Do you think something's wrong?" Quatre asked worriedly.

Duo chewed on his lip for a moment before answering. "Yeah, something...I don't know what though."

Quatre stood up. "Maybe he's not feeling well. Maybe we should hold off asking him for more of the story?" he suggested, holding out a hand for Duo.

Duo took the hand and stood up. "Maybe..." he said softly.

Quatre starred at Trowa's door, his angelic face worried and his hand held to his heart.

Duo filed away worries about Trowa for later thought and put on a smile. "Hey, don't worry about it kid, he'll be alright." He said, putting a hand on Quatre's shoulder.

Quatre dropped his hand and looked back at Duo, attempting a smile. "I guess you're right."

Duo hugged Quatre from behind, loving the feel of the smaller boy in his arms. "Let's go to bed, kay?"

Quatre nodded, smiling softly.

To be continued!

Next Chapter:  
In which we learn about Wufei's thoughts on the kiss.


	8. Chapter Eight

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nataku's Child  
Archive: Not available yet...still...  
Feedback: Yeah! Shininikki@hotmail.com

Couples: 1+5 (Eventually! I swear!) 2x4 (implied) and 2+4+3

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing... I didn't make up the story of Cinderella, nor did I write Ever After... but this story has swung kinda far from both of those... so do I even need to say that anymore?

**Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser**

Chapter Eight

Quatre was sitting in the living room, Friday night, staring at the wall. His lips pressed tightly together and his forehead wrinkled, he was glaring at the wall so fiercely that he didn't even notice Duo walk in.

Duo had gotten bored of his computer and had gone looking for entertainment. Well, that or sex... either would have been fine. But instead he found Quatre looking like a clam making himself a pearl of an ulcer.

Duo frowned a moment before jumping on the preoccupied blonde.

Quatre yelped in surprise as he fell against the couch, a grinning Duo on top of him. "Duo!" he gasped when he realized what had happened.

Duo grinned wickedly at him before leaning down to take a quick kiss. When he pulled away, he grinned again. "I thought I'd cheer ya up...what's wrong?"

Quatre sighed and looked past Duo to the direction of their rooms. "He's been in there every night since Tuesday..." he said softly.

"Hm?" Duo blinked and followed Quatre's gaze.

Trowa's door was closed. Night had fallen and most of the lights in the house were on, but no light seeped from under Trowa's door.

"I don't know what's wrong..." Quatre said forlornly.

"We forget his birthday?" Duo asked, sliding off of Quatre to sit beside him.

"I don't even know when his birthday _is_," Quatre said, looking ashamed.

Duo looked over at the blonde and frowned. If he kept worrying himself like that, he really _was_ going to give himself an ulcer.

"You want me to talk to him?" Duo asked, reaching over to tuck a bit of hair behind Quatre's ear.

"Would you?" Quatre asked, relaxing a bit.

Duo smiled. "No problem."

Quatre smiled back and gave Duo a quick hug. "I'll go start dinner!" he said before running off to the kitchen.

Duo smiled softly and got up, walking to Trowa's door. He hesitated a moment before knocking. "Tro'?"

No answer.

He knocked again, frowning. "Hey Trowa, you awake?"

When again he didn't answer, Duo carefully opened the door and poked his head in. "Tro'?" he whispered, squinting in the darkness.

No answer.

He stepped in and closed the door soundlessly behind him. The room was dark. The curtains were drawn to cut out any light, even in the dim of night. It took Duo's eyes a few moments to adjust to where he could make out shapes of furniture. Stepping lightly, he walked over to the window and opened the curtain a crack.

The mingled light of streetlamps and moonlight poured through the small break, cutting like a knife through the darkness to give a small slice of vision.

Trowa lay in bed, his face upturned and peaceful in sleep. He looked pale in the sparse lighting, his skin seeming stark against the dark of the bed sheets. Duo walked over, silent and invisible in the shadows. Stepping into the light, he sat on the bed beside Trowa, looking down at the smooth, untroubled face of his friend in slumber.

Friend...

His hand moved on it's own, lifting to trace over Trowa's soft eyebrows, down and over his cheekbones... Then slowly, barely touching as though afraid of being caught, Duo's fingers traveled over his bottom lip. Trowa's lips were parted slightly in sleep, drawing in slow and even breaths.

The memory of their kiss flashed in Duo's mind. For a moment, the insane idea of kissing Trowa as he lay unguarded seduced his thoughts. He even started to lean over, but he caught himself and shook his head. It could lead to an awkward awakening. But he couldn't bring himself to straighten. Hovering slightly over Trowa, Duo was quickly forgetting why he was there, or even that Trowa had been acting oddly at all. He looked so peaceful, how could anything be wrong?

His hand moved from Trowa's lip to his neck. The sheet that covered him came up to his underarms. He was shirtless, his bare arms crossed over his stomach. His neck ended in a sharp dip, leading to a well-muscled chest. His arms were perfectly toned, strong but not bulging. His body fit him, you could say: strong, but subtly so.

Duo couldn't help his hand from traveling down Trowa's neck and over his shoulder. The urge to kiss him came back, stronger this time. His body leaned in on it's own, driven by that insane desire.

Inches away, Trowa's eyes opened.

~

He was back with Cathy at the circus.

It was before he had been given the scholarship for college, before he was practically forced into the Preventers, before he moved in with Duo and Quatre.

Life had been simpler, though not entirely happy. He loved his sister, and she loved him. She was always kind, happy, loving... But there had always been something missing.

He had finished a performance. He gave his last bows to a nearly screaming audience, the applause thundering in his ears.

Cathy stood beside him, smiling brightly and waving at the crowd.

He felt like he was watching himself, detached from his body.

He was walking back to his trailer now.

The stars seemed especially bright as he walked across the packed earth.

There was noise coming from his trailer as he neared.

Odd.

He had always lived alone.

When he opened the door and stepped in, it was filled with unusual light and warmth.

Quatre was at the small oven, stirring something.

He turned when Trowa entered and smiled. "Trowa! How did the performance go?" he left the stove and walked over to Trowa. Not waiting for an answer, he hugged the taller boy tightly.

Trowa watched himself reach down and -tipping Quatre's head up, kiss him softly.

Quatre was smiling when they pulled away. He went back to the stove, humming softly to himself.

"Trowa?!" Duo came bounding in from the little bedroom, grinning. He practically jumped on Trowa, pulling him down for a fierce kiss. He pulled away after a few moments, leaving Trowa breathless.

Duo winked, a wicked grin on his lips.

Trowa smiled and started to reach for Duo again, but for some reason, he was too far away.

Like the sensation you get when in a dream you feel you're falling and then you're suddenly jerked back into your body, Trowa slammed into the Trowa he had been watching. He could see his own hand, reaching for the smiling boy in front of him.

Quatre walked away from the stove and drew Duo into a hug, snuggling against the other boy.

They were looking at Trowa, both smiling.

Trowa stepped forward and tried to reach for them again, wanting to _feel_ them in his arms this time...

But again, they were too far.

He walked forward, but he didn't go anywhere.

They seemed so close, but he couldn't reach them.

The room was warm and bright, but he felt cold.

They started to walk away, the trailer dissolving around them.

"Wait!" the plea tore from Trowa's throat as he tried to run after them.

Their laughter sounded distant.

Trowa ran but felt him self go nowhere.

Tears stung at his eyes and he reached, his arm straining, but he could no longer see the other boys.

"Don't leave me..." Trowa whispered, falling to the floor as the warmth and light fled, and the darkness enveloped him.

And once more, he was alone.

Always alone.

He screamed.

It tore at his throat, the cry coming more from his soul then his body.

The sound hammered at his ears.

Tears streamed from his eyes.

And just when the cry reached its zenith, and he felt as though he would burst from it's force, he awoke.

~

Duo's cheeks warmed in a blush as Trowa blinked awake. He was frozen, unable to even move from where he was inches from Trowa's face.

Dark green eyes were glazed over, still holding the emotion they had expressed in sleep behind closed lids, a mixture of fear and pain... so heartbreakingly strong.

Duo noticed Trowa's pulse under his fingertips was fast.

'What's wrong?'

Trowa's eyes focused. "Duo?" Trowa's voice was soft, doubtful. The pained look in his eyes melted away into something akin to relief.

Duo blinked, realization hitting him like a wall of icy water. _'This looks bad!' _He pulled away, his eyes wide. "Hey...Tro' I was just-"

"Don't go!" Trowa sat up and grabbed Duo's wrist as it pulled it away from his neck.

Duo froze.

Trowa looked at the hand that held Duo's wrist. His eyes cleared, as though he was only now waking from his dream. He dropped Duo's hand and looked away.

"I'm not goin' anywhere Tro'..." Duo said softly. He lifted a hand to touch the other boy, but held it back at the last moment, unsure.

Trowa was silent, not looking at Duo.

Duo forced a grin onto his face. "Hey man, I'm sorry, about...you know. I was just coming in to see..." his voice softened a fraction. "How you were doin'."

"I'm fine."

Duo knew it was a lie, and he was fairly sure that Trowa knew that he didn't buy it. "Come on...what's bothering you?"

"It's nothing...I'm just tired." Trowa said, still not looking at Duo.

"Trowa..." Duo smiled lopsidedly and leaned sideways to look Trowa in the eyes. "You lie worse then Quatre."

Trowa's eyes flicked to Duo's.

Duo's smile dropped. The pain he had seen earlier was stronger, though the fear had gone.

"You love Quatre..." Trowa said softly.

Duo blinked. "I care a lot about Quatre..." and before he could keep it from slipping. "I feel the same about you."

Trowa threw back the covers and got out of bed. "It's not the same." He breathed.

"It's exactly the same, Trowa."

~

Trowa's entire body froze. He was sure his heart stopped. He turned slowly to look at Duo.

Duo had his head down, looking interested in the sheet he was idly plucking at. "It's always been the same...God, Trowa!" He looked up, his eyes the only thing clearly visible in the dim light. "Did you really think the constant flirting was a joke?" He shook his head and looked down. "When I kissed you, I meant it."

Trowa's heart came back beating with a vengeance. "But Quatre..." he said softly.

"Quatre?" Duo looked up, his usually light-hearted expression was replaced with a deeply serious one. "Quatre feels the same way I do. He cares for both of us."

Trowa stared at Duo.

'It can't be true... it has to be some cruel joke Duo's playing...' but even as he thought it, he knew it was wrong. Duo wouldn't kid like that, let alone outright lie.

Duo got off the bed. He had grown tall. He only stood three or four inches shorter then Trowa. He hesitantly reached out to touch Trowa's arm. "Trowa..."

Trowa looked down, and not being able to hold his feelings back any longer, drew Duo into a tight hug. Duo returned it for a few moments before pulling away slightly, only to pull Trowa down into their second kiss.

It was almost painfully relieving to Trowa, knowing Duo returned his feelings. He didn't want to let go, afraid it was just another twisted dream.

They stood there for what could have easily turned into a half an hour, but eventually Duo reluctantly drew back. He smiled and laughed lightly. "I think I was supposed to get you for dinner...or something... I forgot... Quatre!" Duo's eyes went wide and he grinned. "We need to tell Quatre!" He started pull Trowa towards the door but froze. He turned back to Trowa. "Or... I... Quatre... too..." he said awkwardly, motioning nonsense with his hands.

Trowa frowned. "What?"

Duo sighed and tried again. "I still want to be with Quatre... I mean, I like both of you... and you know, Quatre really likes you too and-"

Trowa quickly covered Duo's quickly moving lips with a finger. "I understand." He said, almost laughing. "I feel the same way."

Duo grinned and they kissed again.

~

Quatre shuffled through the cabinets, taking out a few things and placing them on the counter.

Duo had been gone a while, and he had begun to worry.

'What could take Duo so long? Is it a good or bad sign?' he thought as he dumped a few things into the small pot on the stove._ 'And what could be wrong with Trowa? Oh...what if he doesn't approve of Duo and me? He did seem uncomfortable last story time... oh... I don't know...'_

He sighed and shook his head. _'I just have to be patient...' _he thought as he made his way to the fridge and started shuffling through.

When he stood, a pair of arms slid around his waist.

Quatre sighed in relief and relaxed into the embrace. "Duo..." he breathed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. "Did you...?" Quatre's voice died out.

Duo felt... different...

Quatre opened his eyes and met green ones.

"Trowa!" Quatre squeaked and twisted around, his face on fire. "What...I..." he stammered. He tried to step away and almost fell into the fridge.

Trowa caught him by the waist, a small smile on his lips.

Quatre's mouth hung open in shock, and had the items in his hands not been taken away, he would have dropped them. Duo smiled at him from behind Trowa, his eyes twinkling mischievously as he took the jars from Quatre's hands.

"I'm sorry I worried you..." Trowa said softly, brushing Quatre's face with his fingertips.

Quatre trembled slightly. He had hardly grown at all, just barely coming up to Trowa's shoulders. The air from the refrigerator cooled his back, making the warmth of the body holding him even more evident.

'What's going on?' Quatre thought, unable to speak.

Trowa looked down at him, the small smile gone. "I couldn't stand seeing you two so close. I'm sorry. I didn't want to be so selfish, but I couldn't help it. It hurt to see you two so happy together...without me."

Quatre's eyes widened.

"I was lonely." Trowa continued, pulling Quatre slightly closer. "But I didn't want to ruin your happiness... even if it meant I would be alone."

"Trowa..." Quatre breathed, his heart breaking.

Trowa smiled softly. "But then Duo told me something. He showed me that I didn't have to be alone, that what I had wanted all this time... had been near by..." Trowa's lightly touching fingertips glided under Quatre's chin, tipping it up. "...Waiting for the same chance..."

Quatre's eyes fluttered closed as Trowa leaned down and took his lips in sweet kiss.

~

After dinner, Trowa was shuffled into Quatre's room and pushed onto the bed. Duo and Quatre snuggled on either side of him, Trowa smiled softly.

"Story." Duo encouraged, kissing lightly at Trowa's neck.

Trowa thought for a second. "Where did I leave off last?"

"Heero kissed Wufei... Wufei didn't seem too happy about it." Quatre piped in.

Trowa laughed shortly. "Oh, right..."

~()~

The forest passed by in flashes of green and the stings of branches hitting his face.

Wufei ran as fast as he could manage, burning with rage.

'How dare_ he?!' _he screamed mentally as he stumbled into his favorite clearing. _'of all the... where'd he get the idea... we were just...'_ He fell in a heap in the middle of the clearing, exhausted. His chest heaved and he held his burning face in his hands.

He had never felt so...vulnerable. It had happened so quickly, so unexpectedly that he had no way of stopping it. How could Heero think he wanted to... do... _that_...?

'I thought we were just friends...' Wufei thought with a deep frown_. 'Maybe I was stupid to think he had stopped thinking of me as a woman...' _he ran his hand through his hair, vaguely wondering when it had lost it's tie. _'Lies... it's all these god damn lies... I'm tired of them!'_

He looked down at his fake breasts with contempt. Locking his jaw, he tore off his shirt and unbound them from chest. _'These... I hate these!'_ he threw them a few feet away and stood, glaring at them. _'That's why... that's what makes me a lie! Those are why he...'_ Wufei couldn't even bring himself to think it.

"I am a _man_!" He yelled in his own voice, harsh from anger.

He ran, leaving the fake breasts and shirt behind him. He ran home. Ran back to where he was known as Wufei, the Chang son. Not Heero's...

Wufei stopped, just short of his house.

"What am I to him?" he asked quietly. After a moment, he shook his head firmly. "It doesn't matter." He told himself and began walking again.

His parents weren't at home. His father was probably in town and his mother was probably working in the garden. Wufei looked around the house, marveling at how different it looked. No, how different it _felt_. He no longer felt comfortable here, as though he didn't belong. It wasn't his home anymore, only where he slept at night. And for a moment he felt as though his heart stopped.

His home was that dark shed now...wasn't it?

His home was with...Heero?

Wufei shook his head sharply. _'No! I wont even think it! I'm just not thinking right... damn Heero...'_

He heard a cough coming from another room. _'Meiran?'_ Wufei quickly went to her room.

Meiran lay in her bed, looking thin and pale. Her hand was pressed over her mouth and her frail body convulsed with coughs. Wufei rushed to her side and smoothed her hair, unsure of what to do. Awkwardly, he made soothing noises until the fit subsided. Meiran opened her eyes slowly as she removed her hand.

"Wufei?" She blinked a few times and then smiled. "Brother!"

Wufei attempted a small smile. _'Has it been so long?' _Meiran looked so much worse then he remembered. She could hardly lift the hand that she had used to cover her mouth.

She frowned slightly. "You're back from work? So early?"

"They gave me the day off," Wufei lied. "Do you want something to drink?"

Meiran nodded. "It's over there."

Wufei dipped a small ladle into the bucket she had indicated and brought it to her lips.

When she was done, she sank back into her pillow. "Ugh... how degrading..." she glared at Wufei, some of her old fire lit her eyes. "Once I get out of this bed, I'll beat you so bad it'll be you who needs help drinking."

Wufei smirked. "I look forward to it."

'I pray for it,' he thought sadly.

~()~

Quatre sighed sadly. "Does she have to be so sick?"

Trowa looked down at the worried blonde. "I could change it, if you want..." he offered.

"No!" Duo protested. "'Cause this is supposed to be like real life. In real life, people get sick and people die. It can't all be happy."

"Why not?" Quatre asked, sitting up. "Why can't life be easy?"

Duo sat up too. "Because it's not real! Bad things happen, it's just the way things are."

"Well, can't we just hope that things are always good and because of that hope, maybe they'll turn out fine?" Quatre countered.

"It doesn't work that way..." Duo answered.

Quatre sighed. "I know..."

Duo frowned, not liking that he won the mini argument. "But you know... some bad things happening, only make the good things better. It'll turn out in the end." He offered.

Quatre smiled softly and lay back down next to Trowa. "You're right Duo... it is a fairy tale."

Duo grinned. "Yup."

Trowa was silent for a few moments. "Is it over?"

Duo laughed. "Yeah, we're done."

"Alright..."

~()~

The next day, Wufei stood outside of the wooden room, staring at the door and trying to build up his courage. Being attacked by fifteen people at night with a broken leg would have been easier then going back into that room.

Wufei locked his jaw and balled one hand into a fist. '_Just do it!_' with his other hand, he slid open the heavy door.

Heero sat in the middle of the room, his back straight and his eyes closed.

'He's...meditating?'

Heero's eyes opened and he turned his head towards Wufei.

"Sleeping?" it slipped out of Wufei's mouth before he could stop it.

And Heero... smiled. It was small, but it _was_ a smile.

Heero stood, his smile dropping. "I wasn't sure you would come."

Wufei crossed his arms. "I wasn't going to."

Heero looked away.

"I...have a favor to ask." Wufei said awkwardly.

Heero looked back at him.

"And it's not because of yesterday!" Wufei said, his forced feminine voice angry. But he wasn't angry, not anymore. "Though I'm willing to forget about... _that_, in exchange. Or anything else, or I can get a job to pay you back, or..." Wufei stopped, realizing he wasn't getting to the point.

"What is it?" Heero asked, taking a step closer.

"It's my sister..." Wufei looked down. He didn't want to ask, but he knew he had to. "She's sick. Very sick. We're sure that if she doesn't get a doctor soon, she'll die." Wufei spoke the words out loud for the first time. It hurt. "We can't afford a doctor." He said quietly.

Heero was silent a moment before walking a little closer. "I understand. I'll have Quinze send someone."

Wufei bowed low. "Thank you." He said softly, his sad eyes hidden.

"Stop that. It's nothing." Heero said shortly before walking to the other side of the room and getting into his 'ready' position.

Wufei straightened and smiled slightly before getting into his own 'ready' position.

~

They leaned against the rough wooden wall, catching their breath after a whole day's spar. It was peaceful, and Wufei felt satisfyingly worn out. His lips were curled in a small smile, though he didn't realize it.

Heero watched him sidelong for a few moments, inwardly smiling himself, before clearing his throat. "It's getting warmer, we might want to move outside soon."

Wufei nodded. "You're right."

"Tomorrow then..." Heero said, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the wall.

Wufei looked over, and without realizing, began to stare. Heero's knee was brought up casually to his chest, his arm resting on top of it. His hair fell near his eyes in an almost careless cut, falling softly in just about every direction. His face was loose, unlike the hard, severe expression he had shown when they first met. He had a sort of boyish look when he wasn't so closed off...

The door slid open and Wufei snapped to attention, his face warming slightly as though he'd been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.

"Well, this looks interesting." A deep voice called sarcastically through the darkness.

'The sun is down already?' Wufei thought.

"What do you need, Zechs?" Heero asked coldly.

"Tsk-tsk, Heero, don't be so testy. I've come under orders from your dear mother."

Wufei felt Heero tense.

"What does she want?"

Wufei's eyes were adjusting to the change in lighting, and he could see Zechs' outline and the white flash of a smile.

"It's just a simple dinner invitation." He said innocently.

"Those are never simple." Heero murmured to himself. He stood and brushed himself off. "By invitation, she means mandatory, I suppose." He said louder.

"Of course." Zechs said, laughter in his voice. "I'll tell her you're coming... and leave you two to say your 'goodbyes'." The door slid closed before either Wufei or Heero could glare at him.

Heero ran a hand through his hair, looking tense. "You had better go, before she finds out that you're still here."

Wufei stood and straightened his shirt thoughtlessly. "What's wrong with her knowing I'm here?"

Heero laughed short and humorlessly. "She's been all but outright saying she wants to meet you. I'm saving you the trouble."

Wufei smirked. "Is she that bad?"

Heero nodded, his eyes troubled. They were uncomfortably silent for a few minutes before Heero spoke, "I should go." He started to leave.

Wufei frowned and almost stopped him. Something didn't feel right, something felt unfinished, but Heero was gone before he could figure out what it was.

~()~

Duo yawned and stretched before draping his arm lazily over Trowa. Quatre stifled a small yawn and snuggled against the taller boy, his eyes half open.

Trowa looked down at the two, smiling softly. "I think that's enough for tonight." He said softly, starting to sit up but finding that he couldn't.

Duo and Quatre held onto him tightly, despite their sleepy appearances.

Duo nuzzled Trowa's neck. "Where do you think you're goin'?" he mumbled.

"To bed,"

"Mmm... We are in bed." Quatre pointed out, closing his eyes and wrapping his arm around Trowa's waist. "And you're too comfy. You can't go."

"Mm-hm." Duo agreed, yawning again.

Trowa settled back down, hesitating only a moment before smiling and placing an arm around each of the boys.

Quatre smiled. "Goodnight."

"G'night." Duo mumbled sleepily.

"Goodnight." Trowa said softly.

To be continued...

Next Chapter:  
In which Heero has a nice happy family dinner... ::snort::

Author note:  
Yeah, I know, it's cheesy... but this wasn't meant to be a work of art in the first place ^_^ hopefully, it's not so fluffy-sweet to be unenjoyable.


	9. Chapter Nine

Hi!  
Just popping in to thank all my reviewers (talk about an ego-trip!) and a give a  
special thanks to my new beta! My sister Angie ^_^ she fixed my mistakes!

I hope you enjoy the new chapter!

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nataku's Child  
Archive: Will my site ever be up?  
Feedback: Yeah! Shininikki@hotmail.com  
Couples: 1+5 (Soon, I promise!) 2x4 (implied) and 2+4+3 (Who doesn't love a threesome?)

Disclaimer: You people still read these? I dun own it!

Story Time With Trowa  
or  
Once Upon a Cross Dresser

Chapter Nine

Saturdays...

There were few things he loved more than lazy Saturdays.

...Well, maybe Popsicles...or hot chocolate after a long day of snowball fights... But then again, both of those were always better if enjoyed on a Saturday.

Duo woke slowly, feeling warm and extremely comfortable. He yawned and pulled open his eyes. It was still early, but his old habit of waking up early on Saturdays for morning cartoons had never died... then again, neither did his love for said cartoons...

He sat up and stretched leisurely, closing his eyes and yawning again while he was at it. Rubbing the side of his face with his palm, he looked down at his two bed partners. Quatre was still sleeping peacefully, snuggled comfortably against Trowa. Trowa looked like he had been awake a few seconds ago, but Duo's movement had dragged him temporally into consciousness.

"Why are you awake so early?" Trowa half asked, half yawned.

"Cartoons." Duo replied with a grin. "Go back to sleep." He leaned down and kissed Trowa quickly on the cheek before getting out of bed and bouncing out of the room. He looked over his shoulder as he closed the door and saw that Trowa had rolled over to hold Quatre closer and was already asleep again.

Duo grinned and quietly closed the door.

~

The day went on as it began, too lazy and comfortable to be anything other than Saturday. Trowa seemed thrilled to be closer to the other boys. He was almost always smiling in his small, subtle way and catching Duo and Quatre every chance he got, giving them small kisses or quick hugs. Duo and Quatre, of course, didn't mind this attention at all.

"And _why_ didn't we pounce him sooner?" Duo asked Quatre once Trowa was gone to take a shower.

Quatre was still blushing from Trowa's latest show of affection. "I'm beginning to wonder that myself." He said with a smile.

It was after lunch when Trowa ushered them to the living room and, sitting in the oversized armchair with the other boys comfortably in his lap, began the story once again.

~()~

Heero and Hilde's Father, King Odin sat at the head of a ridiculously long table, their Mother, Queen Heather, at his right. Heero was across from her, with Hilde on his left chatting across the table with their mother.

Queen Heather was an older, more elegant Hilde. She loved gossip and scandal, but years of court life had smoothed any rough edges she once had. She was warm and graceful most of the time, but once any scrap of gossip came along, she was like a teenage girl again, excited and giggling. She and Hilde got along extremely well. They were like sisters, except when Hilde acted her less than princessly self.

"...But I heard that she wasn't even away to tend to her sick mother, but with her secret lover in a small village in the south!" Hilde said with a grin.

"Oh, how scandalous! I'll have to tease her about it." Their Mother said, her eyes sparkling. "And dear, do eat your vegetables, if you eat all meat and bread you wont keep your girlish figure."

Hilde rolled her eyes. "Yes mum... but these are icky..."

"Icky or not-" Heather started.

"Yeah yeah..." Hilde said, pouting and nibbling at a carrot stick. "Bleh." She made a face.

"Good girl. Now... any rumors on this mystery man?"

Hilde grinned. "Well..."

King Odin was, for the most part, silent and very serious. His personality closely fit Heero's, though they didn't get along quite as well as the girls. In fact, they didn't get along at all. Their meetings always ended in the same argument about Heero's inheritance.

"Your instructors tell me you've been dismissing them again." Odin said suddenly, not bothering to wait until the end of Hilde and Heather's discussion. The girls quieted at Odin's cold voice. When Heero didn't answer, the King went on. "And Quinze tells me you have been spending your days sparring with some farm child."

Heero was silent, though his jaw was clenched tight. He was tired of this argument, and the distaste in which Odin spoke of Wufei helped to fan the fire, so to speak.

Odin was tired of the arguments as well, but he would carry them on until they ended in his favor. "Your lessons are not a choice. I've ordered your instructors to teach you with force, if need be."

Heero tensed. "Force?" He asked coldly.

"Armed guards."

Heather looked troubled. "Odin-darling, I'm sure that's unnecessary."

Odin was glaring at Heero though, not paying attention to his wife.

Heero seethed, Hilde could almost feel his anger from where she was sitting at his side. "I don't want your damn lessons." Heero growled. "They're pointless."

"Pointless?" Odin nearly shouted. "They are imperative in preparing you for your rule-"

"I don't want to rule!" Heero shouted, standing to glare down at his father. "How many times do I have to tell you?"

"It is not a choice!" Odin roared, slamming his fist on the table and making the girls jump. "You are my only son, it is your duty! Whether you want it or not is of no importance! I will die. You will be King. It is _going_ to happen. I want no more of this absurdity-Now SIT!" The final word left Odin half standing and taking heavy breaths to calm him self. His eyes were burning into his son's in the long silence after until Heero grudgingly sat down and looked away.

Hilde bit her lip. They scared her when they got like this, and their fights were getting worse as Heero got older.

After a few moments of even more tense silence, Heather bravely spoke. "Heero, dear, your birthday is coming up... you really do need to stop these silly protests."

Heero glared down at his plate, not showing any sign of hearing her.

"Silvia will come a week after your birthday, I've already sent word to her mother." Heather said calmly, poking at her food. "Once you're married and have a few children, maybe you'll start to understand..." she trailed off.

"He will 'start to understand' much sooner than that." Odin said sternly. "Your lessons begin again tomorrow. No excuses."

Heero's jaw clenched again, and he looked ready to shout back.

"What about Wufei?" Hilde asked.

Everyone turned to her, variations of surprise on their faces, though Heero's quickly turned angry.

"Who?" Heather asked, looking around the room.

"Wufei! She's Heero's-" Heero kicked her sharply under the table. "Ow!" she glared at Heero. "What was that for?"

"_She_?" Heather looked from Hilde to Heero. "Has Heero been seeing someone?"

"No." Heero said quickly, shooting Hilde a warning look.

Hilde looked from her curious mother, to her obviously lost father and then to her homicidal looking brother. "Uh...Um..."

"Heero! Let her speak!" Heather said, noticing her son's glare. "Who is she Hilde-dear?"

Hilde looked at Heero and smiled apologetically. "Um... No one?"

Heather sighed and stood. She walked over, grabbed her daughter and brought her over to sit by her on the other side of the table. "He can't hurt you now." Her eyes sparkled. "Who is she?"

Hilde smiled mischievously at Heero. "Well..."

"Hilde..." Heero growled.

"Hush!" Heather said, waving her hand at Heero. "Go on."

"She's Heero's girlfriend!" Hilde said.

"She is not!" Heero yelled.

"Quiet boy!" Odin yelled. "Go on Hilde."

Heero stared at his father in shock and then crossed his arms and settled for glaring at his bigmouthed sister.

"She's the 'farm child' Quinze was talking about. They spend all day, every day together!" Hilde said, smiling. "That's why he's been ditching lessons." She tattled, smiling and crossing her arms haughtily. "They're always sparring and stuff... or so he _says_."

Heero looked livid and about to jump across the table at her.

"Well, well..." Heather was smiling. "Heero, I thought this 'friend' you spent so much time with was only that... My son having a secret love affair... And with a girl even! Here I was thinking Zechs had gotten to you, showing no interest in the court girls."

Were it physically possible for him, Heero might have blushed at that comment. Things being as they were, however, Heero only glared.

Hilde snickered. "He just likes 'em a little rough is all."

Odin was frowning. "Who is she? Where did she come from?"

"I don't know." Hilde admitted. "She looks different. Pretty, but different. She can fight though, I snuck a peek at them sparing once, she kicked his ass!"

"Hilde!" Heather gasped. "Language!"

"Sorry mum. It's true though!"

"You were beaten by a girl?" Odin asked Heero.

Heero didn't answer, just kept glaring at Hilde. Hilde stuck her tongue out at him when her mother wasn't looking.

"Well then! We'll just have to meet her now, wont we?" Heather said cheerfully, clapping her hands together in girlish delight. "No wonder Heero was so reluctant for me to meet his 'friend'!" She looked thoughtful a moment. "Is she nobility? Will you be marring her instead of Silvia? Because I heard rumors about her and that dashing prince from up north..." she murmured the last to Hilde.

Heero looked shocked and unable to answer.

"Well he's obviously in love, I mean he practically worships the chick." Hilde said.

Heero stared at his sister. "What?"

Hilde snorted. "Oh come on! You're in that god awful room an hour before she gets there, you bite off anyone's head who dares interrupt you... and I've heard things from Zechs."

"Things?" Heather asked, her eyes sparkling.

Hilde smiled. "Juicy things. This one time, Zechs walked in and they were-"

"I'm leaving." Heero growled, sliding back his chair noisily.

"Goodnight then dear!" Heather said waving to her son before pressing her daughter for more.

"Lessons tomorrow!" Odin shouted before Heero left.

~

Wufei sat in the long grass, her hands resting on her knees as she meditated.

It was the next day, and Heero had sent Quinze to tell Wufei where to meet him, and that he would be late due to his father's orders.

Lessons had been hell, as usual. The instructors did their best, but Heero never liked learning about politics and history. War Strategy was sometimes interesting, but even then his mind was somewhere else...

Wufei sat with her back straight and her eyes closed. Had it not been for her chest slowly rising and falling, she would have looked like a statue. She looked strong, no matter what she was doing. She never showed anything but strength and grace... even when she was angry, which happened often. These thoughts, along with others centered on the same subject, were what kept Heero's mind from his studies.

"Sleeping?" Heero asked the frozen figure after a few moments.

Wufei smirked before she opened her eyes. "You're late."

Heero sat down across from her with an angry grunt. "I hate my father."

"So I am told." Wufei said, still smirking. She stood and stretched a little. "You were right about moving outside. The room was stuffy today. Besides, the grass will be softer for you to fall on."

"That's smug of you to say. Especially when yesterday, if I recall, you were on your back five more times than I was." Heero said, standing too.

Wufei laughed. "You counted? How childish."

"You're saying you don't?"

"Only when I'm winning."

Heero laughed, already feeling the morning's stress dissipate.

~

Heero had Wufei's arm twisted painfully behind his back. "Alright!" Wufei cried. "I give up!" Heero let go and Wufei sighed, rubbing his arm.

Night had fallen. It was summer, so it was still warm, but with a cool breeze that felt good after a long day of sparring.

Wufei sighed and lay down in the grass. "That's enough for today, I think." He said, closing his eyes.

He heard Heero lay down near him... very near him...

_'It doesn't matter...' _Wufei thought._ 'So what if he's so close... Damnit calm down!'_

"My birthday is coming up soon." Heero said after a while.

Wufei made a small sound to let Heero know he was listening.

"That's what my parents needed to talk to me about... for the most part. My fiancé is coming." Heero went on.

Wufei had heard the word before. _'Damnit... what does it mean again?'_

"We're getting married a week after my birthday."

Wufei's heart stopped. A rush of thought hit his mind, only one of them being the memory of the word's meaning. _'He has a fiancé? He's getting married? What will happen to me? Will we not be able to spar anymore? Why would he kiss me when he was engaged? What if we never spar again? Is this girl even good enough for him?'_

Wufei heard Heero stir. He opened his eyes to see the prince sitting, his arms on his knees, staring out at nothing. Wufei sat up too.

"Her name is Silvia." Heero said. He looked and sounded closed off for the first time in a long while. "I don't remember her, though I met her when it was arranged. I was probably four or five."

Wufei was silent, unsure of what to say.

"I don't want to marry her," Heero said quietly.

"Are there no alternatives?"

Heero was silent a moment before turning his piercing eyes on Wufei. "One...I can marry someone else."

Wufei opened his mouth, as if to say something, but nothing came to mind.

Heero looked away and stood slowly. "I have nearly a month until my birthday." He said shortly, walking towards the distant castle. "I'll think of something before then."

Wufei watched him go, frowning deeply.

~()~

Quatre smiled softly, his head resting comfortably on Trowa's shoulder. Duo was across from him, on Trowa's other knee, playing with the end of his braid.

"It's about dinner time." Trowa commented, his voice a little dry from all his talking.

Quatre jumped off the chair and pulled at the other boys. "Let's go out to eat, my treat!" he offered, smiling brightly.

Duo grinned and jumped up, running off to his room. "Shibby! I'll get ready!" he called over his shoulder.  
[1]

Quatre laughed as Trowa stood. "Sounds nice, Quatre." He said softly, wrapping his arms around the small blonde.

"Yeah..." Quatre breathed. He hugged Trowa tightly, a content smile on his lips.

Next Chapter:  
In which Wufei and Heero get closer ::grin::

[1] 'Shibby' is due to my recent addiction to Boy Meets Boy... ()

Author (That's me!) Note:  
Heero and Hilde's parents are semi-original. They are, for the most part, older versions of Heero and Hilde. Some of their actions, though, are taken from the Ever After King and Queen. The King's name (Odin) I took from the name of Heero's boss guy from his Episode Zero but the name Heather just came to mind ^_^;;; no significance! While on the subject, Wufei's parents aren't really based after anyone...I don't think *_*


	10. Chapter Ten

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nataku's Child  
Archive: Heh heh...computer problems = No website for a while  
Feedback: Yeah! Shininikki@hotmail.com

Couples: 1+5 (Woot!) 2x3x4 (implied)

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing... I didn't make up the story of Cinderella, nor did I write Ever After... but this story has swung kinda far from both of those... so do I even need to say that anymore?

Story Time With Trowa or  
Once Upon a Cross Dresser

Chapter Ten

The smell of the grass was strong and sweet, its crushed blades made any exposed skin itch slightly, but he was too content to move. He loved the outdoors, and the day had been a warm one, a break from the rainstorms that had been constant for nearly a month.

Trowa's lips were curved in the slightest of smiles, his eyes resting half open as he gazed lazily at the star filled sky.

The breeze was light and cool, brushing his face with a tender touch. It wasn't very late, the stars being still faint in the sky. He had snuck away from the other two to be alone for a bit, just to relax and breathe. Not that he minded their constant closeness, he was just so used to solitude that he needed to escape from time to time. So he lay in the middle of the back lawn, his arms crossed behind his head, staring at the sky without really looking.

After what could have been an hour, (he wasn't really keeping track of time) the back door slid open and a familiar voice called, "There you are! Duo? I found him! He's outside!"

Trowa's eyes flicked down from the sky to see Quatre walking his way, a little hesitantly as he was in his socks and the grass was slightly damp. When he was a little ways away, he smiled down at Trowa. "We've been looking for you." He said. "What are you doing?"

Trowa looked back at the stars and was silent, unsure of how to explain.

Quatre sat down beside him, making a small sound of disapproval. "The grass is wet." He said quietly.

"Only slightly." Trowa answered without looking over.

Quatre drew his knees up to his chin, looking across the yard at nothing in particular. "What are you thinking?" he asked softly.

"Nothing really..." Trowa answered. He sat up and put an arm around Quatre, pulling him closer.

Quatre smiled and rested his head against Trowa's shoulder. "I'm... really happy, Trowa, that we're all together finally." He said shyly, his eyes falling closed as his cheeks warmed.

Trowa smiled slightly and kissed the top of Quatre's head. "I am too."

The door slid open again, and both Trowa and Quatre looked up to see Duo grinning. "You guys are just too cute. If I only had a camera..."

Quatre stuck his tongue out, blushing even more and making Duo chuckle. Trowa patted the grass near him and Duo bounced over, plopping down and giving both Trowa and Quatre a rather loud kiss on the cheek.

"So...what are we talking about?" Duo asked, tickling Quatre with the end of his braid. Quatre laughed and batted him away.

"Nothing really..." Trowa answered, making Quatre laugh again.

Duo's eyebrow twitched up. "Um...right. Anyway... So we get more story then?"

Trowa smiled softly. "If you want."

Duo grinned. "Well, if we're doing what I _want_, then I'd actually rather-"

"Duo!" Quatre blushed brightly.

Duo laughed. "Fine...maybe later." He said, his hand sneaking over to rest on Quatre's hip. Quatre seemed unable to speak for a moment, and Duo took advantage, leaning over to kiss him before he recovered. When he pulled away, he grinned up at Trowa, leaving Quatre a little dazed. "So what happened next? In the...nameless story… We need a name!" he said as though he hadn't thought about it until just then.

Quatre cleared his throat. "Um... yeah! But what?"

Duo thought a moment. "Uh... what about The Dragon In Drag?"

Trowa chuckled and Quatre giggled.

Duo grinned. "Um... Wufei's Night Life?"

Quatre shook his head, still giggling.

Duo nodded. "You're right, they see each other during the day... how about Once Upon a Cross Dresser?"

Quatre tilted his head in thought for a moment before smiling brightly. "I like it!"

Trowa was laughing. "That's a good one."

Duo grinned proudly. "That's it then?"

Quatre nodded, giving Duo a quick kiss. "It's perfect!"

Trowa's arm tightened around Duo's waist and he smiled. "It is." He agreed.

Duo hugged Trowa tightly, still grinning.

Quatre smiled. "Now that that's done..."

"Yeah, what's next in the st--er, Once Upon a Cross Dresser?" Duo asked.

Trowa looked up at the stars once more, his arms each wrapped around one of the others, and smiled softly. "It was a night like this... cool and comfortable..."

~()~

Wufei and Heero both lay in the grass, not far from each other, staring at the sky. Another day had passed, just like all the others: Spar, eat, spar, rest.

Wufei stared unblinking at the sky, something itching at his mind that he couldn't quite place. As though he were supposed to do or say something that he had forgotten.

"Do you like it here?" Heero's voice spoke quietly from his left, interrupting his troubled thoughts.

"Of course." Wufei answered automatically. He caught himself and cleared his throat before adding, "That is... that it's... cooler... here..." he said awkwardly. He shut his eyes in embarrassment. _'What are saying? You sound like an idiot. So what if you like his company? What's the worst he can say...?'_

He heard Heero shift beside him. "Is it...?" he asked, his voice a little rough.

"Hm...better to train..." Wufei explained stupidly, wishing to change the subject. _'Coward, idiot, liar, bastard...'_

Heero was silent while Wufei berated himself with insults. After a few long and uncomfortable moments, Wufei shoved his self-hatred to the back of his mind and opened his eyes. He sat up and ran a hand through his loose hair before chancing a glance at Heero.

Heero was sitting with one leg pulled up to his chest, his arm resting on his knee as he stared intently at the distance. His jaw muscles were working and his lips were dipped in a thoughtful frown.

Wufei averted his eyes and bit his lip sharply. _'I shouldn't notice the shape of his lips! What's wrong with me lately?'_ For the past week or so Wufei had, on more then a few occasions, caught himself looking at Heero...Well, _staring really... _'Focus Wufei! He looks upset...'__

"Something wrong?" Wufei asked, his voice a little too rough and natural. He coughed to cover up the slip.

From the corner of his eye he could see Heero look over. He didn't speak right away, and Wufei shifted uncomfortably under the intensity. Finally, he spoke, "I've been thinking that-"

"The answer is no. You took too long." Wufei said sarcastically, smirking. It was a small attempt at loosening his nervousness, but it helped.

Heero's lip curled slightly. "Alright." he said, shifting into a more comfortable position.

Wufei nodded and was silent for a good... two minuets, tops. "If you don't tell me, I have no choice other then to beat it out of you." Wufei said, looking annoyed.

Heero chuckled. "It's nothing."

Wufei growled and sprang at the other boy, pinning him to the ground before Heero even stopped laughing. "Tell me." He ordered, smirking in triumph. He held Heero's hands tightly pinned to the ground above his head. With no leverage, escape was impossible. Heero was completely helpless.

Heero stopped laughing and his eyes narrowed slightly. Before Wufei could give another order, Heero jerked his leg sideways, kicking Wufei's knee out and, with a throw of his weight the side, threw off Wufei's balance.

Fallen to his back, Wufei blinked up at the star filled sky in shock. Heero's face appeared to block out the sky, smiling broader then Wufei had ever seen him smile. He could actually see some teeth.

"Where did you learn that?" Wufei asked grudgingly.

Heero smirked but didn't answer. His smile dropped slightly as his eyes flicked across Wufei's face.

"So now you aren't going to tell me?" Wufei asked in annoyance, not noticing Heero's slight mood change.

"Maybe."

"You don't have my arms pinned."

"Will you run this time?"

Wufei's slight smirk fell. "Run...?"

Heero's hand brushed Wufei's neck. "You ran away last time..." he ran his hand over Wufei's shoulder and down his arm to grasp his elbow.

"Heero..." Wufei's heart started beating rapidly.

In that instant, Wufei was forced into accepting everything that he had pushed away. From the reason behind Heero's nervousness and his piercing looks, his broken sentences about his fiancé and his fights with his family...

...And also his own reason for coming to the castle every day, why he hadn't seen his own family in weeks because of his late nights with Heero, why he never told Heero what he really was and why he risked his life daily just to spar with someone far weaker then his own father.

_'Oh god...what have I gotten into?'_ Wufei thought as Heero's empty hand pressed against his back.

Heero pulled Wufei into a rather awkwardly placed and loose embrace. "You wont...hit me or anything this time...will you?" Heero joked quietly.

Wufei found a small smile on his lips, despite himself.

"I hope that's a 'yes'." Heero leaned in and placed his lips to Wufei's.

~()~

"YEAH!!!" Duo shouted with a grin. Quatre was giggling uncontrollably, his hand held close to his mouth and his eyes closed. Trowa couldn't help the small smile threatening at the corners of his mouth.

"Ah, finally! I was wonderin' when those two would _finally_ go at it!" Duo shouted.

Quatre blushed and stopped giggling. "I don't think they're 'going at it' just yet Duo... Heero still thinks Wufei's a woman."

Duo slumped a little. "Oh... right... but they're kissing!"

"I don't think Trowa will go much further then that..." Quatre said, glancing at Trowa for reassurance.

"Why not? I'm sure Tro's got one helluva hentai mind... Right Tro'? If not, I can always give a shot at a little lemon..." Duo offered with a sly grin. "I can even give visu-"

Quatre's hand darted to quickly shut Duo's rapidly moving mouth. Speechless himself, he tried to sign something to Trowa with his free hand.

Trowa lifted an eyebrow. "Quatre, I'm not sure I can get into that position..."

Quatre (if possible) turned a brighter shade of red as Duo fell to the ground holding his stomach as he laughed.

"Tell the story!" Quatre finally got out, blushing and hiding his face in his hands.

Trowa smiled and pulled Quatre's hands away, kissing his bright red forehead before turning to pull Duo up from the ground. After Duo caught his breath and Quatre had calmed enough to snuggle up beside him, Trowa started the story again.

~()~

Heero pulled away after a moment and looked cautiously at Wufei. "You can hit me now."

Wufei opened her eyes slowly and blinked. "I should..." she murmured.

Heero closed his eyes and turned his head a little. "Go ahead." In darkness he waited a little nervously. While Wufei was a woman, Heero knew from experience that her punches weren't anywhere near weak. When he felt Wufei grab his shirt, he couldn't help tightening his muscles for the blow...

So when he felt the soft pressure of Wufei's lips against his own, he was so shocked that he would have jerked back, had Wufei not been holding him firmly in place. His eyes shot open for a second, however, before closing slowly as his arm found its way around Wufei's waist.

It seemed he'd waited an eternity to hold Wufei like this, instead of holding her arms behind her back until she gave in... Which was satisfying in a completely different and not as complete way. He was almost sure he had fallen in love with her the moment he caught her pure scent in a mess of false perfumes, or the moment he had seen that flash of color through the faded and dull crowed, or when he first looked into her mysterious and impossibly black eyes... or when he had seen the fire lit in those eyes when they first spoke of martial arts, when they sparred and her body moved with seamless grace, flowing like water.

He had never noticed how alone he was before she came into his life. How utterly dull and gray every memory was before they were touched by her presence. Everything seemed better when she was near. For once in his life, he felt he could rule the kingdom he was born to own... he even wanted to, if she ruled beside him.

But all this, he couldn't say. He couldn't form the words or even complete the thought to tell her all he felt for her. He could only hold her close, even as their lips drifted apart, and hope it was enough.

~()~

Trowa's voice faded to a stop.

Quatre sighed happily and hugged Trowa around the waist. "That was great Trowa!"

Trowa smiled softly. "I have to admit though... it was a little hard to tell."

Duo blinked. "What was?"

"Heero's thoughts." Trowa answered as he detangled himself from the other two. He stood and started to walk toward the house. As his hand touched the backdoor's handle, he turned his head slightly and spoke to them over his shoulder, "They just got a little too personal, is all."

As the glass door slid closed behind the tall figure, Quatre and Duo looked at each other as the meaning of Trowa's words sunk in. Quatre's mouth worked in silent words and his hand was pressed against his chest.

Duo blinked a few times and then shook his head. "Oh he's gettin' some tonight!" he exclaimed and grabbed Quatre's hand, pulling him towards the house.

Quatre blushed but didn't protest.

To be continued!

Next Chapter:  
In which Wufei's life becomes chaotic. Well, more so anyway...

Author Note...er, Apology:  
Heh heh heh ^_^;;; I know, I suck at updating...  
With spring comes inspiration, but also school -_- so I am faced with that timeless dilemma: Good grades or Bishounen? Hmm... but I wish I could say school was the only thing keeping me from writing quicker...video games play a large part as well ^_^;;;;  
So in short: I suck, please forgive me!  
I've started on the next chapter though! ::offers Kobi plushies in apology:: Please be patient!


	11. Chapter Eleven

Short note:  
Yes, it's been ages and I'm sure more than a few of you have given up on my sorry ass, but for those of you who are sticking around (or just joining us) I have a new and hopefully satisfying update. I would give you a long list of excuses as to why this took so long, but I respect you all more than that. Truthfully I'm a procrastinating bitch. Forgive me?  
...yeah, I didn't think so...

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nataku's Child  
Archive: I give up...  
Feedback: Yeah! Shininikki@hotmail.com

Couples: 1+5 ('cause there just isn't enough) 2x3x4 (feel the love)

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing... I didn't make up the story of Cinderella, nor did I write Ever After... but this story has swung kinda far from both of those... so do I even need to say that anymore?

     Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
         Chapter Eleven__

~~~  
The wind blew cold against his skin, carrying water droplets that were too small to see but could be felt as icy pin pricks across his face. The smell of the ocean was familiar and, mixed with the soothing sound of waves against the shore, helped to calm his racing pulse and nervous stomach.

"Hisoka?" Tsuzuki's voice called from behind him.

Hisoka turned, brushing away a wind-blown strand of hair from his face. He didn't answer the call but waited until Tsuzuki caught up to him before turning to once again watch the rhythmic ebb and flow of the ocean.

After a few minutes Tsuzuki's patience ran thin. "Did you say you wanted to talk to me?"

Hisoka tore his eyes away from the comforting ocean to look at his partner. He froze at the concerned expression Tsuzuki wore. What makes his heart race every time his fellow Shinigami shows him kindness? Why does he lose his speech every time Tsuzuki smiles at him?

"Is something wrong?" Tsuzuki asked, placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

Hisoka's face warmed and before he could think twice he was leaning closer...  
~~~

"Duo?"

Duo jumped and spun his chair around, reflexively covering the computer screen. "Q-Q-Q-Quatre! Wh-what's up?" he laughed nervously, edging into a better hiding position.

The blonde was looking at him oddly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Why would something be wrong? Does something seem wrong? How are you? What's that you got?!" Duo's voice had steadily risen with each question until he nearly shouted the last one.

Quatre blinked and looked down at the laundry basket held to his hip. "Oh..." he shook his head and went to Duo's closet. "I washed your shirts...they were getting...um..."

Duo laughed. "Offensive in odor?" He grinned. "Thanks. Just dump 'em on the bed."

Quatre frowned and looked at the empty-except-for-random-useless-items closet.

Duo rolled his eyes and jumped up to grab the basket away from his disapproving roommate. "They're just shirts Q. My 'Are you there God? It's me, Satan' shirt looks better all wrinkly anyway." He explained as he upended the basket onto the bed he hadn't made since they moved in.

Quatre shook his head with a small smile and had turned to leave without further comment but his eyes flicked to the forgotten computer screen. He cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What does YnM TxH PWP mean? Is that English?"  
[1]

Duo's eyes widen and he jumped to cover the screen. "Uh... it's code... for work..." he held his neck and waved his hand. "It's nothing really... Hey! Let's go find Trowa, kay? I'm dyin' for more Once Upon a Cross Dresser!" He blindly shut off the computer—inwardly shedding tears at being unable to finish reading at such a crucial part—and ushered Quatre out of the room before more questions arose.

"But my basket!" Quatre tried to get back into the room but was blocked by a grinning Duo who seemed to grow a few extra hands.

"We can get it later! Let's go, let's go..."

~

Trowa hummed quietly along with the woman singing from the stereo on the kitchen counter. Her words cried to a deceased lover, her voice growing and fading in passionate mourning. He stirred at the lazily bubbling marinara sauce without attention, letting the music carry him away as though he were the lover she yearned for.

With a loud smacking sound, Duo placed a sloppy and over exaggerated kiss on his lips.

Trowa blinked awake and stumbled back a ways.

Duo laughed and shook his head, his arms crossed over his chest. "You two are so weird..." he said, tossing a look over to Quatre who was setting the table in a sort of trance, much like the one Trowa had been in.

Trowa smiled and checked the sauce for any sign of burning due to his lapse of... Reality. Thankfully, it was fine.

Duo shook his head and went to the fridge. "Geeks..." he teased as he shuffled through the various jars and containers, looking for a beverage that contained at least one ingredient that he couldn't pronounce. "If it wasn't for me, Quatre would join a men's choir and you, my green eyed koi," he closed the door with a bump of the hip, a Dr. Pepper in hand, "would be playing flute for the London Symphony Orchestra." He finished by taking a rather cheeky drink from his soda.

"What's wrong with that?" Quatre and Trowa asked at the same time.

"Nothing dears..." Duo said with an endearing smile and a kiss to the top of Quatre's head. "Nothing at all..."

Unsure of if he should be offended or not, Trowa didn't comment. Instead he threw the pasta in to boil and started for the living room. "It should take about ten minutes or so to boil."

"Sex?" "Story?" Duo and Quatre asked at the same time.

Trowa couldn't help but laugh, just as Quatre couldn't help but blush. "I was thinking more along Quatre's path of thought..."

Duo sighed. "Fine... I like my idea better though."

~()~

Emptiness. Calm. Clarity. Peace. Touch?

Wufei blinked his eyes open to see Heero closer then he was when they started meditating... a _lot_ closer.

Wufei glared. "Oi! We're supposed to be-"

Heero kissed him quickly to shut him up, and did so quite effectively.

Wufei's anger was gone as quickly as it rose as Heero's lips drew his body back into the reality that Wufei was previously trying to leave behind with meditation. A week after their first kiss, and already their training was suffering.

Wufei shifted closer and into a more comfortable position, his lips never leaving Heero's. He rested his hand against the back of Heero's neck as the other boy's hands roamed his body.

And then two, very _bad_ things happened: 1. Heero's hand gravitated towards Wufei's fake breast and, even worse, 2. Wufei started to feel a stirring in a place that the character he was playing should_ not_ have.

Wufei's eyes shot open wide with terror. He jumped back and stumbled to his feet, only to fall back down, quite ungracefully to his backside.

"Are you okay?" Heero asked quickly, leaning over the fallen and frightened Wufei.

Wufei couldn't answer. He pushed Heero away and stood unsteadily before leaving the room without an explanation.

"Wufei! Wai-" Heero didn't even finish the word before the door was slammed in his face.

~()~

Duo was laughing so hard that he waved at Trowa to hold off on speaking.

Quatre had his hands clasped at his chest. "Oh poor Wufei! What is he... I mean, how can he... well what if..." Blushing, he shook his head and stopped trying to speak.

Duo wiped his eyes and motioned at Trowa to continue as he caught his breath.

~()~

Once again the sand-bag-breasts returned to the forest floor, as the dark blur that was a furious Wufei tore through the trees in a blind rush to escape. Again, he was running away. Again, he was afraid. Again, he was escaping from the first person he'd ever-

Wufei's foot caught on an unforeseen root and he fell in a jarring and very awkward way. He hit the ground hard. In his distraction he hadn't even put out his hands to break the fall.

"Shit!" he yelled in his natural voice. It sounded odd to his ears, which unsettled him even more then his previous train of thought. He stood slowly and winced as pain shot up through his leg. He doubted it was broken, but it still hurt like hell.

He trudged on through the foliage, slower this time and with the distraction of pain so that he was no longer thinking of... What _had_ he been thinking anyway? It most likely involved Heero...every thought did, nowadays... And with that thought he was inevitably brought back to the reason for his sudden break for solitude.

They were both problems, but keeping Heero from trying to touch his breasts—while it was unsettling to think about—wouldn't be hard to manage... Then there was that other little—well, he wouldn't call it _little_—problem.

Wufei stopped and took a deep breath.

Of course, it wasn't the first time it had happened. He may dress as a woman, but he was still a man for God's sake. But never had it been because of Heero. And he hadn't really thought about it until that shocking moment but... They were both male. Well, Heero didn't know they were...but Wufei did...so did that mean Wufei was...? Well, was it just Heero that made him feel that way? Or could it be any man?

Wufei's stomach churned and he leaned against the nearest tree.

It had been something imbedded in his mind for as far back as he could remember: One day he would get married and have children and carry on the family's tradition and style of martial arts. It was just that way. Always. Now... what? If he was attracted to men... but then Heero...

Wave after wave of black thoughts, worries and shame washed over Wufei. He slowly sunk to the ground and covered his face in his hands.

Their first kiss had been exciting, even fun and fun was something Wufei hadn't really experienced since he was a child. He had done it without thought of consequences and-Oh God! What was he doing?!

Without thinking he was standing and blindly moving in a direction that wasn't his home.

What about Heero? What if Heero found out what he really was? He had to eventually, right? What would happen then? Would they stop seeing each other? Their friendship could be ruined... Wufei could even be killed... His mother had known. She had worried and warned him to keep his distance, but what had Wufei done instead? He had fallen-

Wufei blinked in surprise as it suddenly became bright around him. He looked around to see that he was out of the forest and behind a house that he hadn't seen in years. His shoulders fell but he knew why his subconscious had brought him here. With a defeated sigh, he approached the back door to knock.

~()~

"Wa-wa-wait a minute!" Duo waved his hands. "What was that you said back there?"

Trowa looked blankly innocent. "Hm?"

"The thing about Wufei falling or something! He's in _love_ with Heero?!"

"I didn't say that."

"You almost did, right?" Quatre asked, joining sides with Duo. "That's what you were going to say, right? He had fallen in love?"

Trowa frowned in faux-thought. "I don't remember what I was going to say..."

Duo threw down his hands. "Bull_shit_!"

"What he said!" Quatre said with a nod.

Trowa just smiled.

~()~

Sally glared darkly at the newest stitch she had placed. With an angry grunt she cut the thread from her needle and searched for her seam ripper. She was supposed to be one of the best tailors within miles –second only to Mrs. Chang, who had been her teacher– but here she was on her fourth mistake in twenty minutes.

"Must be a bad omen..." she mumbled as she found her seam ripper... only to be pricked with it as she picked it up. As if on cue, someone knocked at the door. "Noin dear? Can you get that for me?" she called before sticking the wounded digit in her mouth.

As she settled back down she heard the door open and someone saying something that she couldn't hear before a puzzled Noin popped her head into the room. "Sal? It's Wufei... he wants to talk to you."

Sally lifted an eyebrow. "O...kay... let him in."

Noin hesitated a moment before her head disappeared and she mumbled something, presumably to Wufei before going back to whatever she had been doing. Wufei came in a moment later, looking cross and, well, half-naked.

"Your lover should learn some manners." He grumbled before taking a seat near her on the floor. His voice was odd...a little unsteady and awkward.

"I don't think she's used to topless young men calling on me." Sally said with quiet amusement.

To her surprise, Wufei didn't come back with a witty retort...he didn't comment at all, in fact. She frowned and put down the shirt she had been making. "How is your family?"

"Fine." Wufei answered automatically, but by the sudden thoughtful look the question sparked, Sally doubted he even knew.

"I hear Meiran is seeing a palace Doctor..." Wufei seemed to darken more at the remark and Sally's heart quickened. "Is she alright?"

"I...think so..." Wufei looked genuinely troubled with not knowing.

"Alright then, what _is_ this all about?" Sally asked.

Wufei took a deep breath and with a deeply troubled expression, told her the whole story, ending with his sparring sessions with the prince. His voice was horse by the time he finished.

Sally's mouth hung open slightly in shock. There were too many things that she just couldn't believe. Wufei's parents—who were nice, but _very_ traditional—had not only _let _Wufei dress like a woman, but had actually come up with the idea? And Wufei—who had always been so 'macho' that he wouldn't even play with her after his 6th birthday—had actually _agreed_? Of course, she had seen him in his dress... when Quinze had come to her for directions to the Chang house... but she had dismissed it as some kind of joke or... something... she had pushed it to the back of her mind and tried to forget it, which isn't an unusual thing to do when someone is faced with something so utterly incomprehensible.

Wufei glanced over and a bitter smirk itched at his mouth. "Close your mouth, you're starting to drool."

Sally closed her mouth and glared. She was glad that Wufei was at least a little more like himself, though she kept the thought to herself. "So... why are you telling me this?"

Wufei looked away and grudgingly mumbled: "I need your help."

~

"But Lady Hilde, it's _hot_ out here!" Dorothy complained, trying to cool her face with a hand fan that was obviously made more for decoration then use.

"I told you not to wear all those skirts!" Hilde said. She stopped to get a look around while her friend took a painfully needed breather. "Honestly... You're going to draw attention when we get there..."

Dorothy put an overly decorated handkerchief on the nearest rock and daintily sat down. "I wasn't going to wear the ones you gave me... they were the ugliest things I've ever seen..."

Hilde laughed and spun around to admire her 'rustic' attire. "But they're so much more comfortable! And if we're going to a village, we can't look like nobility."

"God forbid they treat us with the respect we deserve... dirty smelly-"

"What was that?"

"Nothing, your highness!" Dorothy said with a charming smile that never seemed to have the effect she was hoping for with Hilde. "I'm just so happy you wanted me to come along with you!"

Hilde sobered. "Zechs wouldn't come with me... says he has more important people to do... or something." She sighed. "But this is for the good of my brother!"

"Such a noble cause!" Dorothy said with awe-filled eyes. "But what can we achieve there?" she asked, pointing to the far off beginnings of a village.

"We need dirt on this Wufei chick... I know she's odd, I'm just not sure how..." Hilde looked to the village with ambitious fire in her eyes. "I'll find out what that hussy is hiding!" She looked back at Dorothy with a sheepish smile. "It gives me something to do anyway, I've been bored lately..."

~

Wufei sneezed.

"Bless you." Sally smiled. "Someone must be talking about you."

Wufei glared. "Idiotic superstitions... So can you help me or not?"

Sally thought a moment, unfazed by his rudeness because she knew he wasn't happy with asking for help... especially the kind of help he was asking for. "I can design something that will be more... constraining..." She frowned. "But I think you should just tell him."

Wufei opened his mouth to argue, but quickly shut it and looked away in shame. "I know..."

"You really like him..." Sally commented, trying to keep the smile from her lips without much success.

Wufei stood abruptly and paced the room, his face bearing a troubled look. He didn't answer.

"What are you so afraid of?" Sally asked.

"I'm not afraid!" Wufei shouted. He realized that his over-reaction proved his guilt and he stopped his pacing to explain. "This doesn't take the kind of bravery I've trained for. I am ready to risk my body, my life... But my family? Their honor... _My_ honor..." he laughed bitterly. "It wasn't supposed to be this way."

He was unsettlingly open and vulnerable. Sally hadn't seen such raw emotion in Wufei since he was a toddler. She was silent a moment, letting him try to sort it out on his own before interjecting a thought that she was almost sure would anger him. "You're afraid of losing him."

Wufei's eyes darted to her.

"You're afraid he will hate you. This isn't about your honor, your family's honor or even Meiran's health anymore, is it?" Sally asked, keeping her voice steady. It was important that he heard the words, but if they held any kind of mockery or even sympathy, he wouldn't listen.

Wufei stared at her for a long time, his jaw set but his eyes calm. She couldn't tell if he was looking at her, or past her into his own thoughts. She waited calmly, not even daring to move.

"It was not supposed to be this way!" He repeated. He sat down heavily on the floor and buried his face in his hands.

"What wasn't supposed to be this way? You aren't talking about this plan your parents had..."

Wufei didn't answer.

Sally breathed deeply and averted her eyes. "That's why you came here... You could have dealt with your other problem with a little brain storming... You didn't come here for a solution for that."

Wufei's hands fell from his face. He stared intently at the space of floor six inches from his foot.

Sally's eyes softened as she looked into her past, and what she spoke next held the faded emotions left from their host memories. "When Noin came here, she was a wandering mercenary. This was…oh, four or so years past. She was in need of shelter and my family gave it without hesitation. I was a shy around her at first, though I couldn't understand why. It wasn't a trait I had possessed before then... I remember, I would watch her practice from my window in the mornings. She was so strong... I had never before seen that in a woman." She laughed. "Other than Meiran of course, but I thought that was because you...well, she was...different. Anyway, eventually I got the courage to speak to her... We became quick friends, and even later..." She laughed. "Well, I wont speak further on that." Sally's face fell. "When my parents found out..."

Wufei turned from the small patch of floor and looked closely at his childhood friend. So many years he had known her, yet he had not once heard this story.

"They were so angry..." Sally went on. "They threw Noin out of the house and locked me in my room. I had always been an obedient child and the thought of doing something they disapproved of filled me with so much shame..." There was a long pause. "Noin visited me again," she started, her voice a notch tighter than before, "late one night a few days after she was exiled. But I couldn't stand the sight of her. I pushed her away, called her names, told her I never wanted to see her again... This was only because of my parents. Their hate became my hate, it was the only way I knew how to cope."

Wufei frowned. "Then how...?"

Sally smiled brightly. "She isn't one to give up, not my Luci."

Wufei was taken back by the sudden mood change and use of Noin's pet name. He doubted many others knew of it.

Sally laughed, her eyes shining as she recalled the rest. "She came to my window every night and we fought in the fiercest whispers we could manage. She was adamantly claiming that I loved her and I was stubbornly denying it of course. I remember my last argument..." her face saddened. "I shouted at the top of my lungs: 'I'm not sick!' I said, 'I'm not twisted like you'. The look on her face... My parents came running into my room and when I turned to blame my outburst on her, she was gone." She fixed her eyes solidly on Wufei. "At that moment, I realized that I did, of course, loved her. Every doubt I had was not my own, but my mind trying to stop something my heart had already decided. I didn't care if my family disapproved, that I would most likely be homeless and lose any chance of a comfortable life because of it." Sally smiled sadly. "I loved her, no more excuses."

Wufei waited a few long moments before he glared. "Are you going to keep me in suspense? Damn it woman, what happened?"

Sally laughed. "I ran away, simple as that. I searched every house for her. And eventually...well, I found her here." She looked around the house. "An old woman took her in the day my parents kicked her out. She said she needed a strong man around the house... Noin was desperate and didn't argue," Sally said with a suppressed smile. "I moved in and when the woman died, she gave the house to us... On her death bed she said we should raise a family here." Sally smiled. "We didn't have the heart to tell her why it wasn't possible."

Wufei actually laughed despite himself. "Tricking a senile old woman out of her house... shameless," the words held no venom, but were spoken almost with almost friendly lightness. "That was a long and pointless story." He said dryly.

"It had a point." Sally defended.

"Which was?"

Sally shook her head. "You would put your mother to shame... The point is that your heart has already made its decision, it's your head that's holding you back."

Wufei was silent for a long while but Sally didn't push a response.

After a few minutes he stood and dusted off his clothes. This was an odd gesture since they were a more than a little torn and he was still shirtless. "Well, you aren't any help." He complained. He glanced up and their eyes met. In a breath's time he apologized and thanked her without a word between them.

Sally smiled with fake bitterness. "Ingrate."

Wufei smirked with a familiar bite of fire in his eyes that Sally had missed since their meeting began... and even longer than that, though she wouldn't admit just how much she had missed their loving rivalry.

Wufei puffed his chest a bit. He was already rebuilding his lost dignity...or arrogance, rather. "I must be going. Sorry to disappoint you, but I have more important things to do than sit around and chat with you."

"I'm crushed that you find wearing dresses more enjoyable than visiting with those who deserve to wear them in the first place."

Wufei laughed. "I cringe at the thought of that masculine female you call your lover in a dress. I have more grace at four in the morning than that woman has all day."

Sally laughed. "That is an interesting thing to boast about. Are you going to compare breast size next?" Sally retaliated with a triumphant smirk. Oh how she had missed their verbal duels. Wufei stalled a second, searching for something to come back with, but Sally didn't give him the chance. "You had to be going?"

Wufei glared but eventually gave a curt nod. "Yes..."

~

Hilde looked around the village and started to feel regretful of her decision to leave Quinze behind... And for not writing down his directions.

"Um...Hilde-sama... Where is her house?" Dorothy asked cautiously.

Hilde laughed nervously. "Um... either west or east of town... or was it north? It's not south! ...I think..."

Dorothy flinched.

"Ah!" Hilde exclaimed with a bright smile. "I know it's not east! We came from there!"

Dorothy just barely kept her groan from escaping. She was beginning to regret this little outing, even if it gave her time with Hilde.

Her highness was still trying to remember what Quinze had said when a nearby door opened. Hilde and Dorothy turned to see a half-naked boy walk out of a small house on the town's edge.

Hilde was about to speak up to ask directions when a blonde woman came to the door and called out to the boy. "Wufei wait!"

Hilde's eyes widened. _'Wufei? No... It can't be...'_ even as the thought formed in her mind, Hilde had Dorothy by the arm, dragging her to a nearby house to hide behind.

"Highness?"

"Hush!"

The boy—Wufei?—turned to the woman, his face undeniably familiar.

The woman smiled warmly. "Give my love to your family. Especially Meiran.

The boy nodded gravely, his long black hair falling over his face. He didn't brush it away, even as he started walking out of town.

Hilde stared, even after his half-bare figure disappeared into thick forest surrounding the town and the woman had gone back into her house, until Dorothy tugged at her sleeve, demanding her attention.

"Hilde...what just happened?" Dorothy asked, dropping her formality in shock.

"That was Wufei..." Hilde said quietly.

It couldn't be... of all the terrible secrets she had thought up for her brother's... _friend_... this was most definitely not on the list. Did Heero know? If he didn't, should she tell him?

"Then she really is..." Dorothy trailed off.

As they walked home in silence, the same thought marched through Hilde's mind. Pounding, echoing, repeating...

'Wufei is a man...' 

~()~

"Oh. I got carried away... the spaghetti is probably done..." Trowa informed his openmouthed listeners. "I should go-"

Duo and Quatre, who were sitting on the floor in front of him, grabbed his pant legs simultaneously. "You stop, you die." Duo said darkly.

Trowa frowned but didn't protest.

~()~

Wufei passed silently under the forest roof, the shade cool on his bare skin. He walked slowly, his mind thick with thoughts and worries.

So the truth was love? That's what Sally had said... And though he dreaded the idea, he knew it was true. He _was_ in love. It sounded so wrong though! He had never really planned to fall in love. It wasn't that he didn't want to, he just didn't think it was in his character, he didn't think it was possible that there was something in this world that he couldn't control or destroy. In the back of his mind, he had always believed love was a dysfunction that would be ineffective on him. He would never allow himself to be so vulnerable. Was this ignorance or arrogance? It didn't mater, the result was the same, he was in love despite himself.

He wanted to blame Heero... or his parents, or even Meiran... but the thoughts were just thoughts. He had no conviction. He was in love with Heero, and it was his own fault. Now he had to live with the consequences... and in the most realistic of possible scenarios, they weren't very good.

Wufei was kept company on his trek home by these imaginings of the future. Possibility after possibility played through his head, a ceaseless stream of alternate endings and probable climaxes to this awkward and shameful drama. In one such scene, Heero was furious and threw him out a convenient fifth story window... In another, Heero was incredibly happy, saying that he liked men better anyway...

Some of these he denied immediately like the impossible scenarios where everything was easy and light-hearted. Those were far too idealistic. Telling Heero would be hard, harder even than the unavoidable conversation with his parents. On the other side of the spectrum, were the worst endings he could create. These, instead of being discarded, buried themselves deep in his heart, seeding doubt and fear deep in his unconscious mind. Despite all this, was determined to tell Heero. He_ had _to. This he had known for a long time, but had pushed it back with the truth about his feelings.

These thoughts were still clouding Wufei's mind when he stepped out of the sharp line of trees that surrounded his childhood home...

...Yet despite the sudden brightness of the late afternoon sun, cold like a bitter snowstorm passed through his body. His heart skipped a beat and then came back pumping with fear-induced haste. Something dark and indescribably frightening flooded into Wufei's soul, burning away any previous thought he had.

It was sudden, but absolute. This feeling...this knowledge... _'Something is wrong...'_ It was more of an emotion than a solid thought.

Panic quickly overcame him. He rushed to the house, feeling the air press against him the closer he got to the home he had practically abandoned. But even before he opened the door and released the sound of his mother's weeping from the house's stale air, Wufei knew what it was.

Wufei fell against the door's frame, his chest constricting in pain.

Inside, Wufei's mother was leaning heavily on her husband, her face buried in the old man's chest as her whole body shook with sorrow. His father stood as solid as he always did, but his face was set in a deep frown, and his eyes held back the threat of tears. As the orbs, black as Wufei's own, focused on the light rimmed figure of his son, a rogue tear broke away and streaked across his weathered face. No words passed his lips, as though he understood that Wufei already knew. He didn't move, but watched Wufei with the intensity of his crippling pain.

Wufei's mother finally pulled away from her husband's arms to look at him. The tranquil face Wufei had always known was stained with past tears as new ones flowed without hesitation. She brought a pale hand to cover her mouth as she shook with new sobs at the sight of her already grieving son.

Wufei's eyes burned as they flicked from his father to his mother. He couldn't summon his voice to ask the question, but he didn't need to. He already knew...he knew everything...

"Wufei..." His mother whispered. She reached out to him, her thin, delicate hand starting to shake as her tears fell faster.

As the first hot tear streamed down Wufei's cheek he took a step back, his body convulsing as he tried to hold in his pain. _'No... She was getting better! It was all for her... how could the doctors have failed? Why didn't anyone tell me?!'_

"Wufei, please..." His mother pled, her lips shaking.

Wufei shook his head. He stumbled blindly backward, unable to tear his eyes from his suddenly frail mother. She cried out to him, jerking awkwardly away from his father to reach for him, but he turned and ran for the forest.

He ran, his mother's tears and the pain in his father's eyes burning into his mind's eye. The wind from his run made the tears streaming from his face burn like ice held too long, but he wouldn't slow. He ran because it was all he could do. The pain was greater than anything he could have imagined on his darkest day. It ate at his heart, his soul. It burned at his core with a blue flamed fire, somehow cold and hot at the same time.

She was gone. His strong, feisty, passionate, silently loving and beloved sister... The girl whom he had always tried to protect, despite her unwillingness to be protected... The sister for whom he would have given his life without a thought, had he only been given the choice... the sister whom he had taken care of since the day her illness struck... 

...His Meiran was gone.

~()~

The last line was the last spoken between the boys for the rest of the night.

Trowa silently lead his crying roommates up to bed, lay beside them without a fuss, and held them long after their tears slowed. They didn't leave that comfort, only shifted closer and held each other tight as the night grew darker and their breath slowed.

Next Chapter:  
In which Heero is shocked into delving deeper into his feelings for Wufei...

[1] _"What does YnM TxH PWP mean? Is that English?"__  
_To translate, this means it is a Yami no Matsuei fic about Tsuzuki and Hisoka that is more porn than plot. Yami no Matsuei (Or Descendants of Darkness) is an anime (and manga, though the manga isn't liscensed in America...yet) about a sort of afterlife detective agency… It's a good watch and it has yaoi overtones ^_^ good times for all.

Authors after note:  
Heh...so yeah... all angry letters, rants and/or complaints can be sent to me Shininikki@hotmail.com ^_^;; if you want an explanation or anything, I can do that too...


	12. Chapter Twelve

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nataku's Child  
Archive: Not up yet...  
Feedback: Yeah! Shininikki@hotmail.com  
  
Couples: 1+5 (::grin::) 2x3x4 (::bigger grin::)  
  
Disclaimer: Yes, yes... Don't own, don't own...  
  
Key  
'Thoughts' (you should know that one by now, though)  
"Voice Mail" (this is where it might get confusing...it's all in the  
quotation!)  
  
Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon A Cross Dresser  
Chapter Twelve  
  
Monday morning a very tired and less than cheerful Trowa walked into his top-floor office. Despite devoting his entire Sunday to paperwork and staying up until said devoted day turned into the present one, he was still disgracefully behind schedule. In fact he was sure that if he took the time to print out every report, gather every memo and stack them with every passive aggressive letter sent to him from a higher-up, the term "up to his knees" would be depressingly literal. Of course, he could only blame himself. He had become...distracted...lately. He had been letting his two dangerously glompable roommates lure him away from his work far more often than he should have. It was mutually agreed that Trowa was the more grounded and responsible one. If the manager slips, then those underneath him fall too... Underneath being figurative, of course.  
  
A small curl formed on Trowa's lips at that little innuendo and he allowed a couple of mental pictures to pass through his mind before getting back the problem at hand. He shouldn't have let Duo and Quatre ignore their work either. If Trowa was the more responsible one, then his neglected work would-logically speaking-be a lot less than Quatre's, not to mention Duo's...  
  
With his mind wrestling between worrying about the other's jobs and his own, Trowa fell into his chair with a large, ear-popping yawn. He then had to strain to make his sleep deprived muscles lift his briefcase onto the desk. He was still amazed that he was able to stuff every folder, note, form, file and memo into a small briefcase that was greatly overdo for retirement. Well, he would think about buying a new one once he was sure he still had a job to take it to.  
  
Yet even after worries about loosing his job; even though he yawned every second breath from late night cramming; even though he was completely unprepared for his 10:00am meeting; even though he knew that as soon as his computer booted up, he was going to get at least one more message about some over-due report; even though imminent doom was coming as fast as the day was brightening, he couldn't feel angry or even regretful of his past few weeks. His job performance was suffering, but he couldn't remember a time in his life where he had been this happy. He could count on a single hand how many times he had not been unhappy in his life, and even those were tainted in one way or another. Because of this he constantly had to remind himself to enjoy this fragile time of joy instead of waiting for the inevitable downfall he was headed towards. Because these things don't last, right?  
  
Trowa's screen flashed a small window, informing him of waiting voice messages. He distractedly set them to play while he unpacked the previous day's work. He had to focus! It just wasn't a good time to brood over the injustices of life. Or rather, what a bitch karma can be.  
  
Trowa's lip twisted in a small, bitter smirk as his voice mail started to play, and his procrastination ran over to give him a sharp kick up the arse.  
  
"Good morning Mr. Barton, I'm calling from the office of Ms. Une..." Trowa quickly skipped the message without looking up.  
  
"Mr. Barton? This is Jacob Schaefer. I'm calling about the status reports from colony..." He skipped that one as fast as he was able.  
  
"Trowa?" Trowa paused in his search for a particularly important form at the sound of Quatre's voice. He stopped shuffling papers to listen, his lips curling as the voice went on. "I don't want to bother you... You must be busy, I know, but... Well, I hardly saw you at all yesterday..." Quatre always had a problem with asking for something he wanted... It was evil to enjoy his nervous tiptoeing, but Trowa found himself laughing anyway. "And you left the story at such a crucial part..." Quatre cleared his throat and rushed through the rest. "Lets have lunch, kay? Bye! End of message. To repeat this message..."  
  
Trowa closed his voice mail, ignoring the other waiting messages. He leaned his elbows against the desk, knitting his fingers together to rest his chin on. He smiled softly as visuals of the nervous blonde trying to get up the courage to call played in his head. One little message and suddenly he didn't feel quite as nervous or tired. That was Quatre for you.  
  
'Lunch, huh?' Trowa weighed his options. It was going to be a busy day. He had planned on skipping the meal altogether... But a lunch date with his two...companions...had far too much temptation to stand against a day locked in his office with nothing but papers and angry messages to keep him company. Ah yes, the scale was well tipped in favor of lunch...  
  
As for work? Well, maybe they would let him slide on the reports for another day... As long as he made his meeting, it wouldn't be too bad, right?  
  
~  
  
Trowa kept his eyes down as he shuffled into the conference room, taking special care not to make eye contact with Schaefer, who was obviously trying to catch his attention. 'Status reports, was it? He is always trying to make himself more important than he really needs to be.' Trowa thought in a moment of unchecked grumpiness.  
  
The door opened shortly after he settled into his seat. Une walked in, followed closely by a woman he hadn't seen in at least a year. "We're starting." Une said briskly. She wasn't as abrasive as she had been in the wars, but she was swift, professional and impatient with unnecessary chatter. Trowa didn't exactly like her, but she was one of the few people he truly respected. When she was at the head of the long table, she gestured to the woman beside her. "Most of you know Preventer Water, Ms. Po."  
  
Sally smiled. "Just Sally, please."  
  
Une made no indication of hearing her. "Ms. Po will be here for the week. Though officially on vacation, she has agreed to help when she is able. She is one of our best field workers, so I encourage you to speak to her about any questions or concerns you have with our current Preventive Actions." She nodded to Sally.  
  
Sally cleared her throat. "While from time to time, Field Officers do have weapon reports, the Field's main focus is on covert information gathering..."  
  
~  
  
Afterward, as the room cleared, Sally caught Trowa's eye and smiled, motioning for him to join her. Trowa quickly made his way over, thankful for the excuse to avoid Schaefer and anyone else seeking him out for complaints. Sally smiled brightly and gave him a hearty hug as soon as she was able.  
  
Trowa hugged her back, hesitating only a second. "It has been a while, Sally."  
  
"Too long, too long. How can I convince you to join us in the Field?" She asked with a smile as she dragged him away from the lingering executives. "Get you away from all these wrinkled old men." She murmured under her breath.  
  
Trowa chuckled and shook his head. "My Field days are over."  
  
Sally feigned despair. "They retire so soon now-a-days."  
  
"Finally taking a vacation?" Trowa asked, trying to change the subject.  
  
Sally laughed. "If it were up to me, it would have come a lot sooner. This is the soonest I could get that idiot away from his precious work. Though he isn't happy we're away a whole week."  
  
Trowa searched his mind. He was obviously supposed to know whom she was talking about. "He...?" When it dawned on him, his eyes widened.  
  
Sally shook her head. "Slave master, Chang is. He'd work us to the bone if there weren't laws against it."  
  
Trowa grabbed Sally's arm. "Where is he?" he asked urgently.  
  
"Wufei? I don't know. Knowing him, he's probably walking around trying to talk someone into giving him an order." She frowned. "Something wrong?"  
  
"I have to get to Duo before Wufei does..." Trowa muttered.  
  
Sally looked utterly confused. "Why?"  
  
Trowa shook his head. "No time to explain. Talk to Quatre." He said before rushing out of the room.  
  
God help him if he was too late.  
  
~  
  
"Sometimes you feel like a nut..." Duo sang brightly as he bounced down the hall.  
  
The walls on his floor were sterile white, a perfect reflection of the people who worked on it: clean, professional and mind numbingly boring. His loud singing evoked quite a few glares, but Duo just grinned at them and continued on his way.  
  
"...Sometimes you don't..." Duo continued his song as the candy machine came into view. He sprinted the last few yards. "Almond Joy's got nuts!" He sang so loudly that it was still echoing back to him when his heart dropped as his eyes fell on the empty space where his favorite candy usually waited for him. "Mounds don't..." he finished his song in sadness and looked at his other choices.  
  
As Duo's eyes roamed predatorily over the many colorfully wrapped confections, the voice of a very uncomfortable and slightly scared man floated down the hallway. "But sir, Miss Po said I wasn't to bother you with work this week..."  
  
"Po has no right telling me what I can and cannot do!" an all too familiar voice shouted back.  
  
Duo instantly forgot about his candy dilemma. "'Fei?" He looked up and around, searching the blank hallways.  
  
"But sir..."  
  
"You say 'sir', yet you refuse to acknowledge my superiority!" Wufei yelled at the poor office worker. "I don't want to see your face again until you have a lead for me!"  
  
Duo followed the angry voice until he found its source. Wufei was standing one corridor down from the candy machine, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at the retreating figure of his subordinate.  
  
"FEI!!!" Duo shouted. It was the only warning the Chinese Preventer had before being overcome by Duo's "Attack of the Air Constricting Bear Hug".  
  
Eventually Wufei pried Duo's surprisingly strong arms from his neck. "Maxwell..." he growled as soon as he could breathe again.  
  
Duo laughed and resisted the urge to give him another hug. "Aw come on, admit it, you're happy to see me."  
  
Wufei couldn't hold his glare for long so he looked away, not allowing Duo to see his eyes soften. "I admit nothing."  
  
Duo grinned but didn't prod further. "What're you doin' here?"  
  
Wufei's glare returned. "That damned female dragged me."  
  
Duo laughed. "Forced vacation? Sounds like ol' Sal."  
  
Wufei grunted and was silent a few moments before he asked in a low voice, "Are you still living with Winner and Barton?"  
  
Duo smirked devilishly. "Yeah...things are finally getting interesting too."  
  
Wufei's eyes narrowed a second in confusion. When it cleared, Duo was almost sure that Wufei's cheeks were the slightest bit pinker. He cleared his throat. "Yes, well..."  
  
Duo laughed and threw his arm around Wufei's shoulders, dragging his reluctant friend down the hall. "So..." A devilish thought popped into Duo's head at that moment and had it been a manga, Duo would have grown horns. "Heard from Heero lately?" He asked.  
  
Wufei didn't seem to notice the teasing note in Duo's voice. "No, not directly. I have heard about him, of course. He is still head of security for the blonde female."  
  
Duo smirked. "Jealous?"  
  
Wufei's shoulders stiffened. "I have told you many times before, I have no interest in the blonde female."  
  
"Of course!" Duo said, shaking his head. "I know."  
  
Wufei looked too puzzled to comment.  
  
"You know, you better make a move soon or-"  
  
"Duo!"  
  
Duo looked up from his teasing to see Trowa running towards them. A large grin broke on his face and waved excitedly. "Tro-baby! Couldn't wait till the end of the day for some touchy-touchy? No prob, I'm always ready." He got variations on the same glare from both men, though Wufei's was made less threatening by his obvious discomfort.  
  
Trowa slowed to a stop and Duo continued grinning as his lover took a moment to catch his breath. He had obviously run a long way, and Duo was interested in his reason.  
  
"Does Quatre know you're here?" Trowa asked Wufei once he caught his breath.  
  
Duo's smile turned wicked. So the reason wasn't something Wufei could hear? Interesting...  
  
Wufei's eyebrow arched but he didn't comment, just shook his head. "I haven't stopped by yet."  
  
Trowa nodded. "I'm sorry, I have something to attend to, if we could catch up another time?"  
  
Wufei nodded. "Of course."  
  
Duo rolled his eyes and threw an arm over each friend. "Aw come on! Is this how we treat each other after so many years? Come on, we'll take 'Fei over to Quatre and have a dandy good reunion."  
  
Wufei glared. Whether it was because of the name or the invading of personal space, he didn't clarify.  
  
"Wufei will have to find his own way, I'm afraid." Trowa said with a sidelong look at Duo. "We need to talk."  
  
With a smirk, Duo slipped his arm down to hook Trowa's waist. "Well then..."  
  
At this point, Wufei was looking very uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. "I will go...now...yes..." he mumbled. He left as quickly as he could without actually breaking into a frenzied run.  
  
Once he was gone, Duo pushed Trowa against the nearest wall, a throaty chuckle bubbling past his lips. "So... we needed to 'talk'?"  
  
Trowa's eyes slid to half open and his arms somehow found themselves wrapping around Duo. "You do realize the difference between reality and fiction, right?" he asked. It was the same speech he had planned while he was running, but somewhere he had lost his conviction...  
  
Duo nodded before nuzzling Trowa's neck. "Why do you ask?" he questioned in a dangerously sensual voice.  
  
Trowa's answer didn't come right away, and when it did he sounded rather distracted. "Promise me you won't try to fix them up."  
  
Duo laughed and pulled away. "I don't make promises I have no chance in keeping." He smiled and turned to walk away. "I'll see you at lunch with Qat, alright?" with the PS of an impish smile, he turned the next corner and was gone.  
  
~  
  
"Mr. Winner!" The dark haired hostess exclaimed with a smile.  
  
Quatre smiled brightly as the restaurant door closed behind him. "Hello Kristy. How are you?"  
  
Kristy smiled with more warmth than she ever showed customers...well, other customers anyway. "I can't complain. Your usual table?"  
  
"Actually..." Quatre leaned against the hostess' pedestal with a delighted smile. "I have some people with me... Do you think you could get me something more private?"  
  
Kristy giggled. "For our favorite patron? Not a problem... You'll have to make it up to Meiko though, she's been complaining about how you never come around anymore."  
  
Quatre looked away with a small blush. "I've been preoccupied."  
  
"Hmm, well, any business that brightens those cherub cheeks..." Kristy pinched them lightly to bring the point home. "...Can excuse your absence without much complaint from Meiko." Her smile turned devious. "I'll give you the candlelit room. Just give me a moment to get it ready."  
  
~  
  
"Daaaamn... Nice digs Q! I didn't know you had connections!" Duo exclaimed as they were lead into their private room.  
  
Quatre smiled brightly, heartened by Duo's shameless wonder. "I come here a lot. I know most of the staff is all." Trowa's arm fell across Quatre's shoulders and they shared a smile as Duo made himself comfortable. "I've already ordered." Quatre said. "I hope that's alright. I was eager to get the story going again..."  
  
Duo looked up from the candle he was fiddling with and nodded with a grin. "Yeah, it's about time!"  
  
"I feel terrible leaving Wufei on his first day back," Quatre said, "but I do have a happy announcement to make!" he clasped his hands in front of his chest. "Wufei agreed to stay with us while he's in town!"  
  
Trowa's eyes flicked to Duo, who was grinning. Trowa could see the hints, innuendos, schemes and romantic scenarios already forming in Duo's mind. He tried to chastise Duo with a stern look, but he was already too far into his planning to notice.  
  
"So, let's start the story!" Quatre said, taking a seat next to Duo.  
  
Trowa gave up trying to subtly catch Duo's attention and took the seat across from them.  
  
~()~  
  
Lady Une, Princess Hilde's nurse, sat on Hilde's bed and watched as the young woman paced her room. Hilde was twisting a handkerchief in her hands and biting her lip in obvious tension, but as of yet Une had no idea why. "Um... your highness... is something the matter?"  
  
"Oh Aunty!" Hilde exclaimed with dramatic exasperation. "I don't know what to do!"  
  
"About what?" Asked Une.  
  
Hilde plopped next to her nurse with a sigh and leaned heavily against her. "I have a dilemma."  
  
"Oh?" Une, not having much of an education-being only a servant, after all- had no idea what 'dilemma' meant.  
  
"Okay..." Hilde took a large breath. "If you learned that someone was lying to someone you know...know really well, in fact...and that lie was really big and would probably hurt the person you know, would you tell the person the person's secret? Or what if the person knows the person's secret and doesn't care. Then again maybe the person was going to tell the person the person's secret and-"  
  
"Your highness!" Une put her hand over Hilde's rapidly moving mouth and took a deep breath. "Please, you need to slow down." She removed her hand. "Now tell me again."  
  
Hilde sighed. "I know someone's secret... should I tell another person the secret or let the person who-"  
  
"Oh, Hilde..." Une interrupted. She grasped Hilde's shoulders and smiled sympathetically. "This is about your friend Dorothy, isn't it?"  
  
Hilde blinked. "What?"  
  
"That Dorothy girl! About her... Her umm...her feelings..." Une said awkwardly.  
  
"What? What are you talking about? This has nothing to do with Dorothy!" Hilde sighed and stood up. "Oh never mind! You just don't understand!" She left the room in a flourished huff.  
  
Une sighed and rubbed her temples, feeling yet another Hilde-induced headache growing. "No, I don't understand you at all..." she agreed wearily.  
  
~  
  
Heero watched the sun sink bellow the hills, the stone in his stomach falling right along with it. He hadn't seen Wufei for two days since her sudden flee, which he was sure had been his fault. What had the problem been exactly, though? Had he gone too far, too fast? Was she not ready for that level of intimacy? He could wait. He didn't mind waiting and he would have told her this, if she had come back to hear it.  
  
Maybe he had ruined it for good this time...  
  
He stood with a heavy sigh, already feeling the cold of night taint the breeze. He had skipped all his classes since Wufei's latest disappearance- which invited his father's wrath-to wait in the field, hoping that Wufei would forgive him for whatever he had done wrong... But he couldn't help but remember that the last expression he had seen on Wufei's face was fear. It was also odd that she hadn't even come to yell at him. Something just didn't feel right... He couldn't quite explain what it was. It felt as though someone was pulling at his sleeve, desperately trying to speak to him in a language he didn't understand. The breeze sifted his hair again, and reluctantly he began the depressing trek back to the castle.  
  
'What if Wufei is in trouble?' He thought. 'She is strong, but would she be able to protect herself against anyone? What if a group attacked her?' These thoughts, black and absorbing, clouded Heero's mind so that he wouldn't have noticed Quinze waiting in his room had the steward not spoken.  
  
"Ah! Your highness!" Quinze stood and bowed a little awkwardly. There was something unsettlingly nervous about Quinze, which was so unusual that it kept Heero from just ignoring the despised servant.  
  
"What is it?" Heero asked darkly, not in the mood for a secondhand lecture from his father.  
  
Quinze shifted stances a few times before stating in a professionally cold tone: "I'm sorry to inform you that your...friend, Lady Wufei..." Quinze paused and he seemed to be searching for the right words.  
  
Fear froze Heero's heart. That tugging at the back of his mind... That feeling of unease...  
  
"Her sister has passed away." Quinze finished after what felt to Heero like hours.  
  
Heero's heart started again, rushing blood back to the fingers that had turned to ice in his fear. He was sure that Quinze was going to tell him that Wufei herself was dead, or at least hurt. He had to take a moment to simply breathe before his mind went to the actual point of Quinze's announcement. "Wait... What?" he asked darkly.  
  
Quinze's composure faltered a moment at Heero's tone. "The physicians did all they could but-"  
  
"But they failed." Heero interrupted. His temper recovered quicker than his patience. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared. "When?"  
  
Quinze was nervous. He had not expected Heero to react so...well, react at all really. "A...A few days ago, I believe..."  
  
Heero had Quinze's neck before the old bastard could twitch. "And you tell me now?"  
  
Quinze's last shred of calm broke and he squirmed, trying to get out of Heero's painful grip. "I...I didn't.know..."  
  
Heero growled and let go. "Take me to her."  
  
Quinze rubbed his neck and nodded. He left quickly to get a carriage ready.  
  
Heero ran a hand through his hair and tried to calm his rage. Wufei couldn't see him angry, not now. He looked around and grabbed a coat before leaving the room, walking as swiftly as he could without raising suspicion.  
  
"Heero!" He didn't even turn when he heard Hilde call his name. "Heero I've been looking all over for you! I need to talk to you!" she called, her footsteps falling quickly behind his.  
  
Heero turned in a sharp blur, his dark coat swirling around him as he aimed a venomous glare at his annoying sister. "Hilde..." He growled. "Not. Now."  
  
Hilde's eyes were wide with fear and she held her hand to her mouth in blessed silence.  
  
Heero turned and kept walking. It was a shame that he didn't have time to enjoy the miracle of Hilde's mouth being shut.  
  
~  
  
Cold...  
  
Empty...  
  
Gone...  
  
Forever gone...  
  
His fault...  
  
Everything...  
  
All wrong...  
  
Wufei shivered and wrapped his arms tighter around himself. Somehow he had found his discarded clothes and now held them closely against his body, more for comfort than warmth. He had no idea how long he had been there, curled up at the edge of his favorite clearing. He hadn't cried long... His pain was far past the healing capability of tears.  
  
It was his fault for everything... Had he asked sooner, Meiran would be alive; had he left sooner, his family wouldn't be in danger; had he never lived, Heero wouldn't have fallen for a lie.  
  
'Fallen for...?'  
  
The mere thought of Heero falling in love with him made Wufei sick. How could he claim to love someone when his whole existence was a lie? He had no right... no right to be with Heero, and no right to have been Meiran's brother...  
  
With that thought came the guilt of her death, which brought him full circle. The same spiral of shame that pulled him further and further away from reality. All he felt from his body was cold.but maybe that too, was his just in his mind.  
  
~  
  
Heero rested his head against the jolting carriage wall.  
  
They were on their way to see Wufei...  
  
He needed to see her. After that scare, he needed to make sure she was still there, still real. That scare... the tiniest pause between words, and Heero's life had stopped. He had been sure, for less than a second that Wufei was dead. Gone from his life in the most permanent way... irreversible... eternal... and in that blink of time, Heero was the most afraid he had ever been... No, it was more than that. There was pain too. The knowledge that he would never see Wufei again struck and shattered him. Had Quinze gone on to say Wufei was dead, would Heero have been able to continue living?  
  
Heero stared unblinking at the ceiling.  
  
Wufei had given him life. He had no purpose, no passion, no soul before he met Wufei... Were she to leave him...  
  
"Ah, there it is." Quinze was looking out the window. He pointed to a slightly darker patch of space in the distance. "Chang House."  
  
Heero would have jumped out and ran the rest of the way, but Quinze held him back. After which, Heero had to restrain himself from giving the scrawny man a good strangling. Once the carriage started to slow, Heero jumped out despite Quinze's shouts. He ran to the door and knocked loudly, not caring that it was far into the night and the house's occupants were most likely asleep.  
  
Quinze walked up from the now stopped carriage. He held a lantern in one hand, the only light other than the very dim glow from the house's windows. The air was cold, but Heero wasn't sure if it was the temperature or the feel of the house.  
  
Finally, after far too long in Heero's opinion, the door opened to a short, stocky older man. "Can I help you young man?" the man's voice was tired and sorrowful, making him sound far older than he looked. He looked passed Heero to see Quinze walking up from the carriage, and only took a few moments to figure out whom the boy at his door was. He bowed deeply. "Your highness...please come in..."  
  
Heero nodded, mildly surprised at the old man's quick assessment. Heero walked passed him and his eyes darted as he searched the small house for Wufei while Quinze explained their visit behind him.  
  
It was a small house. It couldn't have been more than a few rooms. There were doorways with thick curtains drawn for privacy, two of them to his right. In front of him was a large sitting room with an odd, squat table to one side, next to a large fireplace. The room looked like most of the houses that surrounded the castle, albeit smaller, but there were things he had never seen before... There were odd paintings on the walls, most with just clumps of thick black lines arranged in odd ways...  
  
'This is Wufei's home?' he thought with sudden sadness. He suddenly realized how few solid facts he knew about Wufei. When had her family come? Where had they come from? Had they been here long?  
  
Heero's searching eyes fell on an older woman sitting at the back of the house. He hadn't noticed her mainly because she hadn't moved since he entered. She was staring out a nearby window with blank eyes, apparently not noticing the new arrivals.  
  
The old man-Wufei's father, Heero guessed-moved past him too the woman and took her hand, rubbing it with worry in his eyes. He spoke to her softly in another language until the woman turned from the window to look at Heero with the same void expression. She stared a few moments before her eyes cleared and she bowed, awkward in her sitting position. "Your highness..." her voice was thickly accented and almost musical... but tired and heartbroken like her husband's.  
  
"Where is Wufei?" Heero asked. His urgency to see her overrode the unfamiliar sympathy he was feeling for her parents.  
  
The woman's hand went to her mouth, and her husband went quickly to comfort her as she wept silently.  
  
As she cried into his shoulder, Wufei's father turned his sorrow-filled gaze to Heero. "I will show you."  
  
~  
  
The elder man led Heero and Quinze outside after seeing to his wife. He walked across his back lawn to the edge of a dark forest. Lifting a hand, he gestured to an inconspicuous space between two trees. "Wufei left through there, two days ago." He said with heavy sadness. "When Wufei found out Meiran was gone..." He sighed and looked back towards the house. "My wife stays by that window, waiting for her child to return."  
  
Heero followed his gaze to the ghostly-pale visage of Wufei's mother, once again looking blankly at the space between the two trees. Heero's eyes hardened with decision. He took the lantern from Quinze and brought it over to study the space where Wufei disappeared. "You haven't searched?"  
  
The old man sighed again. "I cannot leave my wife as she is... loosing two children in one day... Even though Wufei still lives..." There was doubt in the man's voice, despite the certainty of his words.  
  
Heero's earlier fear started to freeze his fingers. He nodded with determination and stepped into the darkness of the forest.  
  
"Your highness!" Quinze shouted, grabbing onto Heero's coat. "What are you doing?"  
  
Heero glared back. "I'm going to look for her."  
  
Quinze looked shocked. "It is dark! I can send a search party in the morning. Please, it is far too dangerous."  
  
Heero jerked his sleeve from Quinze's hands. "I don't care."  
  
"But your father..." Quinze shouted. But he had already lost sight of Heero in the thick forest.  
  
~()~  
  
Quatre sighed with whimsical joy. "He's searching for Wufei! He is so romantic!"  
  
Duo laughed and placed a rather loud smack to Quatre's cheek. "My little helpless romantic."  
  
"I think it's cute, is all!" Quatre said in defense.  
  
Duo ruffled the blonde's hair in affection. "It's okay Kit-Kat. It's cute."  
  
Trowa sighed regretfully. "I should...We should get back to work..."  
  
Quatre and Duo simultaneously pouted, attacking Trowa with instant guilt from two directions. "But..."  
  
"You didn't say much!" Duo complained.  
  
"It's just getting good!" Quatre added.  
  
"You can't do this to us!"  
  
"It isn't fair!"  
  
Trowa looked from one disappointed face to the other before letting out a stress-heavy sigh. "I'll leave early today, if you promise not to beg me during working hours, alright?"  
  
'I just hope I can get everything done in time...' Trowa added mentally. 'I really need to stop spoiling them...'  
  
The boys agreed readily, showing Trowa their thankfulness in their own...special ways...  
  
~  
  
Later, that night... Duo bounced out in front of the others and spread his arms wide. "Welcome to Biseinen no Ie!" he exclaimed with a wolfish grin. [1]  
  
Wufei lifted an eyebrow and looked around the small house that his three comrades shared. It wasn't richly furnished, as he would have expected with somewhere that Quatre occupied, but it didn't seem to be lacking anything. He stepped in to get a better look, Trowa and Quatre following closely behind.  
  
They stood in a living room of sorts, with a bookcase, a couch and a rather large and overstuffed armchair. There was a sliding glass door in the back, though Wufei couldn't see much outside in the dark; a door to his left, which-Duo informed him-was the kitchen and a hallway to his right, which- Duo informed him with a cheeky grin-led to the bedrooms.  
  
Distracted by his viewing, Wufei nearly tripped on the warm fuzzy thing that came unannounced to twine between his legs. Luckily, he grabbed the wall in time. When he was steady, he looked down at his furry assailant.  
  
It mewed.  
  
"Ah! Kobi-chan!" Quatre rushed forward to pick up the kitten that nearly caused Wufei's literal downfall. "Are you alright Wufei?"  
  
"Fine." Wufei said shortly, glaring at the kitten. 'We will settle this later, cat.'  
  
The kitten purred and snuggled against his master.  
  
"If you're thirsty or anything, help yourself." Duo said, gesturing to the kitchen. "As for sleeping, you can use my room." He grinned in a way that made Wufei-yet again-uncomfortable. He thought about asking where Duo would sleep, but after his little display with Trowa, Wufei wasn't sure he wanted to know... "Come on, I'll show ya the way." Duo offered, grabbing Wufei's wrist and dragged him away without waiting for an answer.  
  
Kobi hopped out of Quatre's arms and followed.  
  
To be continued...  
  
Next Chapter:  
In which Trowa's long day continues and Wufei's father contemplates  
the strength of the young lovers' bond.  
  
[1] This translates to "House of Beautiful Men" or something similar.  
  
End Authors Note:  
^_^;; I'm putting this at the end 'cause I didn't want to delay this  
chapter any longer than it had to be. Good news! My dad was able to  
retrieve all of my writing from our old hard drives! ^_^ my life is  
not over.  
I'm sorry if there were any errors, I tried to get this out as soon as  
it was legible 'cause I feel really bad about my bad posting habits.  
Speaking of said habits, I have a web journal so if you get to  
wondering how the new chapters are coming along, you can check my  
progress!  
  
I suppose that is it...  
Thank you for your support!  
-Your Writer Person  
  
PS sorry 'bout all the... formatting... I still haven't found a technique I like...that works on FF.net -_- Sorry it isn't prettier to look at... 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Quicky 'for note:  
Some of the italics and such refuse to work! I'm sorry my formatting is crap! Please enjoy despite my incompetence!

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nataku's Child  
Archive: Not up yet...  
Feedback: Yeah! Shininikki@hotmail.com

Couples: 1+5 (he he he...) 2x3x4 (Yum!)

Disclaimer: Yes, yes... Don't own, don't own...

Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Chapter Thirteen

"Great perfection seems incomplete,  
But does not decay;  
Great abundance seems empty,  
But does not fail."

Scratch. Mew. Purrrr…

"Great truth seems contradictory;  
Great cleverness seems stupid;  
Great eloquence seems awkward."

Purrrr... Paw-paw. Mew.

"As spring overcomes the cold,  
And autumn overcomes the heat,  
So calm and quiet overcome the world."  
[1]

Wufei's eyebrow twitched as the most annoying thing ever conceived by...whatever it was conceived by, finally plopped down on his lap after ten long minutes of preparing the space for its rest. Wufei put down his old and battered copy of the Tao Te Ching and glared at the furry hell spawn known simply as Kobi. He wasn't sure why this "Kobi" had chosen to follow him around for the past few hours, batting at his legs and mewing incessantly. Either the kitten liked him and didn't realize it was incredibly annoying, or hated him and was trying to slowly kill and/or drive him insane.

Wufei glared for a few long moments. It _was_ sort of cute... All fluff and innocence... It purred louder then one would think something so small could manage... Wufei cautiously touched the curled up ball of fluff with a single finger. Well, it didn't _explode_. He stroked it a little, still only willing to touch it with one finger. Kobi seemed to like it seeing as he leaned into the touch. Wufei, feeling a bit embarrassed that he had been afraid of a kitten, started petting him normally. Apparently this angered Kobi. With a tiny hiss he scratched Wufei's hand and darted under the couch.

"Damn cat!" Wufei shouted, holding his assaulted hand.

Insanity was the goal... Yes, that cat was out to destroy his mind...

Wufei glared grumpily at the couch for a few moments before turning his anger to his hosts, who had disappeared immediately after dinner.

~~Earlier that night~~

Wufei was speaking to Trowa about the latest funding problems for the Preventers when Quatre and Duo finished with the dishes.

"Well that's that! Time for bed!" Duo announced, grabbing Quatre by the wrist and dragging him across the kitchen.

Wufei's eyebrows arched. "It's 7:30..."

Duo yawned loudly. "Yup. Long day. I'm beat. To bed!" he dragged poor Trowa out of his chair.

"But Duo..." Trowa started to protest.

"No buts! Early bird gets the worm and all that crap... G'night Fei-chan!"

Before Wufei could argue, they were gone.

~~Back to the present Wufei~~

Wufei crossed his arms angrily. Something wasn't right, but he didn't really want to think about it. In the back of his mind he had some suspicions, but they brought on unwelcome visuals. It wasn't that he was homophobic, he was uncomfortable with _any_ form of intimacy. On top of that, he had known them for so long that the thought of them together... Well, he would rather not think about it at all.

_'They were tired... They were just tired...' _He told himself.__

He looked at his watch. _'I suppose I can go to sleep...' _Then he remembered the previous night. He had been so disgusted with the condition of the room that he opted for the floor rather than the questionable bed._ 'I'm not sure I want to do that again... maybe I can just sleep on the couch…?'_ He then remembered that Kobi was somewhere under there and immediately changed his mind. He sighed and grumpily made his way to Duo's room.

On the way however, something caught his attention. From one of the rooms came the sound of muffled voices... No, it was only one voice... Wufei, stopped walking and leaned closer to the closed door. _'It's Trowa,'_ he recognized immediately. He was speaking in a low but clear voice. He was about to turn away when out of a line of words he didn't pay much attention to, he heard one that sparked his interest: His name.

~~Earlier~~

"That wasn't very nice..." Quatre complained in worry as he was pushed into Trowa's room.

"Trowa's fault." Duo said with a nod, walking past Quatre to make a dive for the bed.

"How so?" Trowa asked, closing the door behind him self.

"You decided to jip us on the last story telling, you gotta make up for it now." Duo explained as he spread his limbs across the bed. He motioned for the others to join him.

Quatre reluctantly accepted his silent invitation. "But we've hardly seen Wufei at all. Besides, it's rude to leave someone all alone the whole night!"

Duo smiled and wrapped his arms around Quatre's waist. "We'll make it up to him, don't worry. Now stop complaining, you know you want more Cross Dresser just as much as I do."

Quatre looked guilty. "But..."

Trowa smiled. "We can take the day off tomorrow to spend catching up with Wufei. I'm sure Une will understand." He joined them on the bed, reaching across Quatre to lay his hand on Duo's hip.

Quatre sighed. "Alright..."

Duo grinned at Trowa and winked.

Trowa's lip curled slightly in response. "It's settled then. Now let's continue..."

~()~

The night had grown unusually cold.

Whether it was a bad omen or the simple fact that the forest got colder than the rest of the kingdom was something Heero had no time to contemplate. With the weak light of his lantern, Heero desperately tried to decipher the trail Wufei had taken. It was faint, but the path was there. Wufei had apparently used it before...many times, in fact. But in the dark it was hard to keep track of.

He was probably being foolish. Light, a proper search team and maybe some less expensive clothing that wouldn't be torn to shreds by the foliage... All of these could have helped the search. Even as he thought this, however, it was dismissed. Any discomfort he was experiencing, Wufei had endured for several days. And for a female, it was probably ten times as worse...

Heero's lip twitched in an unexpected smile. Wufei was unquestionably the toughest woman he had ever known, and he couldn't imagine her being so delicate as to be afraid or even discouraged by a dark and dangerous forest. She was like no other woman imaginable... That was what drew him to her. She had strength in spirit as well as body that could never be matched by any other woman he had met, and probably most (if not all) men. She was different in every way that she could be, and he had fallen frighteningly fast for her.

Heero snapped to attention as the light from his lantern fell on something different: empty space. There seemed to be a clearing ahead. Heero sped up at the promise of a place to rest a moment to recollect him self. The lantern light spilled past the barrier of trees and into a space of nothing but long grass as far as it could reach. Heero felt a small flush of relief at seeing a temporary safe spot. He sat down at the edge with the lantern placed at his side. The oil in it was running low. If he didn't find Wufei soon, he would have to wait until daylight anyway.

With a tense sigh, Heero leaned against a nearby tree and closed his eyes. He already felt drained of energy and helplessness was seeping into his mind. What if the trail wasn't really there? Or he had lost it in the darkness and taken a wrong turn? How did he expect to find-

Nearby, something made a noise.

Heero stopped breathing. His eyes darted in the darkness but saw only that. He strained his ears to hear the noise again. It was there... Something was in the darkness, so close that he could hear its breath rattling in its throat. Heero slowly rearranged his body until he was in a tense crutch, ready to defend himself against the hidden threat.

Then it coughed.

Heero's eyes widen as he recognized the noises as human. He grabbed the lantern and rushed towards the raspy breathing, his heart pounding with hope and fear. The light fell on a fallen figure wrapped tightly in damp and dirty cloth, its body shaking with troubled breath. The clothes he knew, but even more familiar was the black silken hair that fell to cover the figure's face. Heero fell to his knees and desperately pulled the hair from Wufei's face. Her cheeks were ice cold and deathly pale in the flickering light of his discarded lantern.

"Wufei? Wufei, wake up!" He cried as he pulled her into his arms, cradling her face in hopes of warming it.

~

Out of the stretches of cold and silence, pain and insanity, came something clear and warm...

No... There was something clear _and something warm..._

Wufei broke out in shivers as he woke from his fog filled dreams. Something was bringing him back... Someone was calling his name...

_Wufei..._

It was frightened... That wasn't what was warm... His face was warm... He hadn't been warm for an eternity, why now?

_Please... Wufei..._

He felt his body suddenly struck with tiny pinpricks on every inch. He attempted to cry out but his voice wouldn't work. He tried to move but his limbs didn't respond. What was happening?

_Wufei? It's Heero... Open your eyes... Please?_

Open...?

He tried once, but they didn't stay open... Why was it so bright?

"Wufei!!" The voice was stronger now, and he could feel hands on his face, callused but warm. "Wake up!"

Wufei had to blink rapidly at first, but eventually his eyes stayed open and focused.

'Heero...' He tried to say it but the name held no sound other than in his head. What was wrong with his voice?

His vision blurred and he tried to call out again, but nothing sounded and blackness took him again.

~

Quinze had gone to collect a search party.

'Though it is probably to find his prince, rather then my son.' Mr. Chang reflected.

The old man stood a few feet from the mouth of the forest path, his eyes fixed on the space between the trees. He waited, just as his wife had waited for days previous, for his son to return. His son and that boy.

That boy... The Prince who had taken an uninformed liking to his Wufei... Who was he? Since the day Quinze had taken Wufei from their home, the family began seeing less and less of him. 'The boy who stole my son.' He thought with weary sorrow before reprimanding himself. His son was not stolen, but had grown. He was now a man, separated from his family by time not circumstance. Though Mr. Chang had known the day would come, it didn't make it easier to let go, especially under such conditions.

Mr. Chang frowned deeply. 'What does this Heero know of Wufei? He thinks my son is a woman! And yet...'

         "I'm going to look for her."  
         "It is dark! I can send a search party in the morning. Please, it is far too dangerous."  
         "I don't care."

_'He cares for Wufei...'_ he thought with resignation. _'Does he care enough, though? Will it change when he learns the truth?'_

Faintly he started to hear the crunching of feet coming from the forest... Two feet... There was only one coming.

Mr. Chang strode up the path's edge and peered through the foliage, but could not see anything. No light shown through, he could only hear the footsteps. Tense moments passed before he saw the person, but when he did the first joy he felt in years was granted him.

Heero came through the path, Wufei held tightly in his arms. Heero looked up in surprise at Mr. Chang. With amusement, he guessed Heero had not realized where he was going. That amusement quickly extinguished when he laid eyes on his only son, sickly pale and unconscious. Before he could lift a foot toward the couple, the door behind him burst open and out ran his wife.

She darted past her husband without even a glance in his direction and gasped when she stopped in front of Heero. With one hand to her mouth, she placed the other to Wufei's face in a gentle and fearful way. Her shoulders slumped in relief as she felt warm breath from his lips, despite the deathly cold of his skin. She stepped back and bowed as low as her aging body could manage. "Thank you." Her voice shook.

Heero was taken aback a moment. Not because of the display, but of how much he felt for this woman with whom he'd never spoken to before less than an hour ago. He nodded uncomfortably. "Is there somewhere she can rest?"

Mrs. Chang straightened and nodded. "Of course."

Mr. Chang held back as his wife led Heero into the house. He looked once again to the barely visible path between the trees and frowned. _'He managed to find Wufei from a path that to most is invisible... This is far greater a danger that we have pushed our son into than I could have imagined.'_

His heart heavy with foreboding, Wufei's father followed the others into the house.

~

When Quinze arrived at Chang House, the prince and Mr. Chang were sitting in silence in the main room.

Quinze dipped his head quickly. "Your highness, what happened?" he asked, clearly confused that the Prince wasn't in the middle of a forest freezing to death.

Heero blinked in surprise. Once again he had not noticed Quinze was there until he spoke. "She's resting." He replied.

Quinze frowned at the lack of information. Heero was there, however, which meant that Quinze had not lost the heir to the thrown and would therefore not loose his head. Happy to be alive, Quinze sat with the other men to wait until he could leave all this ugly business—and ugly house, he added to himself—behind him.

Ten or so minutes later, Wufei's mother entered from one of the curtain-separated rooms and with a relieved smile, assured them that Wufei would be fine. "She needs a warm bed to sleep in for the night, and she may have a slight fever for a little while, but she will recover."

Quinze was amazed at how learned she was. She spoke perfectly but for her accent.

"Can I see her?" Heero asked.

With a sad smile the woman nodded and gestured toward the door.

~

Heero stepped into a room that was small, but undoubtedly Wufei's. Various poles and wooden weapons stood in racks and a makeshift bookcase sat near them. More of the scrolls with odd characters on them littered the walls, filling everything except for a small picture above a rather large portion of empty space. Heero walked closer to the picture. It was sketch of two children, one about two and the other an infant. The older one was watching over the infant as it slept. Heero looked down to the empty space he stood in, so odd in a room so small...

Wufei shifted in her sleep, drawing Heero's attention away from the picture. He kneeled beside the low bed, which seemed to only be a thick pad on the floor. Wufei was asleep under many layers of blankets. Her cheeks were slightly pink as warmth returned to them. Her hand fell from the confines of the covers and Heero grabbed it as it dropped. It was still cold. He held it in both hands as he watched her sleep and, hopefully, recover.

~

In the other room a hushed argument was taking place.

"Mr. Quinze, please understand. We lost our daughter recently and just now almost lost our... other daughter. You wish to take her away from us so soon after we get her back?" Mr. Chang struggled to keep his voice down.

Quinze was stubborn. "I don't want to take your daughter from you, but you must understand that the prince is not going to leave her!"

"Please keep your voices low," Mrs. Chang urged, glancing at Wufei's room in worry.

"He can stay here then." Mr. Chang spoke with forced calm. "My daughter is not leaving this house."

Quinze's face contorted as though he smelled something horrible. "That isn't your choice Mr. Chang. I can remove her from here if I want to. However, you can choose to let her go with grace and avoid trouble."

Mr. Chang's voice turned dark. "Is that a threat?"

Mrs. Chang stepped between the two, placing a calming hand on her husband's arm. "Please, Mr. Quinze, my daughter isn't well, I must care for her."

Quinze straightened his gloves unnecessarily. "We have doctors at the palace. _Professionals_."

Mrs. Chang could feel her husband's anger at the insult, but her worries were elsewhere. "I would like to see to her myself. I beg you. She is my daughter."

Quinze was silent a moment. "Fine," he said finally. "You will come as well."

~()~

Wufei sat with his back pressed against Trowa's door for a long while after Trowa's voice faded and Duo's loud snores began.

Next Chapter:  
Like a curse, Wufei's secret torments those who hold it and planning begins for Heero's birthday party.

[1] This translation was taken from Mr. Peter Merel's site...I wish I could give you the address but FF.net won't let me -_-

End Author's Note:  
Greetings! I'm sorry this chapter took so long, only for it to be this short! But please understand that the next chapters are going to be longer. I know this is just a tiny plot step and I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner! On a different note, I realized a while after I sent the last chapter that I mentioned my Live Journal but FF.net removed the address (I didn't know they didn't like addresses) However you can find the link as my homepage on my user profile-y-page.  
It isn't all updates, but any updates are marked specifically as such so you can just ignore the other crap! It's just me whining about how bad my really good life is ^_^;; heh. So check it out! Or don't! I'm just here to serve *bows*  
-Me


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Author's Note: [Skip to avoid pointless author babbling]  
Heh, another extremely late update. I think I have to put a deadline on these things or something, so I don't just procrastinate my arse off. Anyway, sorry once more for any errors, my knowledge of grammar is purely observational.  
Also, I would like to take this time to express my utter love and appreciation for all my readers and reviewers, every little comment and encouragement makes my day! I've never had a story receive so much great feedback and I hope I can continue entertaining you without too much aggravation! Though I know my updating habits suck ^_^;; to put it mildly. Thank you for sticking with me!  
Enough of my babbling!

Name: Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Author: Nataku's Child  
Archive: Not up yet...  
Feedback: Yeah! Shininikki@hotmail.com  
Couples: 1+5 (he he he...) 2x3x4 (Yum!)  
Disclaimer: Yes, yes... Don't own, don't own...

Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon a Cross Dresser  
Chapter Fourteen

Une was not happy, to say the least. "I am not saying that you don't deserve a vacation..."

Trowa looked coolly at Une's digitally transferred image. "Then what you _are_ saying is that one's personal life is unimportant?"

Une's jaw tightened. "It isn't that either. I have been getting complaints-"

"Ms. Une, I think you are under the impression that I am asking you for a favor, when in reality I am doing _you_ a favor by calling to inform you that I, along with my two colleagues, will be taking a small amount of time off for the duration of our Field associate's vacation." Trowa said sternly, effectively cutting off Une's speech. "If our employment does not allow personal time off, we have a problem. Don't forget that we work there more for charity than necessity. We could do just fine with out you and your company. If you desire our resignation, don't hesitate to ask for it."

Behind the laptop, on the other side of Trowa's desk, Quatre and Duo stood listening to the conversation. Quatre's eyes were wide with worry and Duo wore a smoldering smirk that fueled Trowa's desire to end the conversation.

Une's jaw was clenched so tight by this time that Trowa was sure she would crack a tooth soon if the pressure went unreleased. She was obviously struggling to hold back the venomous words she longed to throw at Trowa. It wasn't that she disliked him, she just hated being powerless. If only he wasn't so right! "Fine. Have the week off," Une relented. "But I want you back after that, rested and focused. I don't want to here more complaints about dodging paper work."

"A week then. No sooner." With that Trowa cut the connection. He leaned back in his chair with more than a little self-satisfaction.

"_That_ was sexy." Duo said with a smirk. He moved closer to lean against the desk, within touching distance of Trowa.

Quatre smiled and joined them. "I have to admit, it was impressive. You would have made a good lawyer."

Trowa resisted a smile, standing to mask the curve his mouth was taking. "We couldn't let this chance go by with Wufei. I don't know how Sally was able to talk him into a vacation this time, but it can't work twice." He was almost to the door when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

"You think we're going to let you go after that performance?"

Trowa smiled. "I thought we were spending time with Wufei...?"

Quatre smiled against Trowa's back as he heard Duo slid off the desk. "He can wait a little longer..."

~

A while later—longer than they had planned—Trowa and Co. joined Wufei in the kitchen. Their guest was sitting at the table, starring off into space and poking at a bowl of brown sticky substance that looked like overcooked oatmeal.

Duo bent over to place his head directly in Wufei's line of vision. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Wufei jerked in surprise and backed up so forcefully that his chair scooted back and made a high-pitched screeching noise that scared Kobi, who had been napping comfortably in his lap. Wufei glared at Duo. He looked embarrassed, as though he was caught doing something wrong. "My thoughts are worth more than you own, Maxwell." He grumbled.

Duo smiled and lifted an eyebrow. "If they could get you that riled up, I _would_ pay to see them."

Wufei grabbed his bowl and kept his head down as he went to dispose of its contents. Duo was about to tease further but Quatre, sensing this, announced their vacation instead.

Wufei's brow furrowed at the news. "That wasn't necessary..."

Quatre shook his head as he got a pot ready for tea. "Of course it is. When was the last time we've all been together?"

"We aren't all-" Wufei started but stopped.

Quatre tilted his head. "Hm?"

Wufei smirked suddenly and looked to Trowa. "How did you get Une to agree to a vacation for the three of you?"

Trowa noted the sudden change in topic and put the information aside for later. "I just asked."

Duo snorted. "Liar. You should have seen him 'Fei! He basically told Une that if she didn't give us the week off, she could shove our jobs up her-"

"But not so bluntly, of course," Quatre said quickly.

Wufei chuckled. "I hope you recorded the conversation, I would kill to see it."

~

They spent the day at the house catching up. When prodded, Wufei shared some stories about some of his more exciting fieldwork and in retaliation Duo told over exaggerated stories of his own, making mundane 9 to 5 office work seem somehow entertaining. They ordered in and ate in a comfortable silence that night. When they—meaning Duo—ran out of things to speak about, they called it a night and went to their rooms.

"Did Wufei seem odd to you?" Quatre asked later that night.

"What do you mean?" Duo asked as he kicked his pants into the corner.

Quatre looked disapprovingly at the discarded pants but didn't reprimand Duo. "I don't know..." he was silently musing as he changed into his silk pajamas. "He seemed quiet, thoughtful..." he said slowly as he carefully hung his clothes in the closet.

Duo laughed and jumped onto Quatre's bed. "I'm sorry, I guess you hadn't met Wufei before today."

Quatre peeved-kitten-glared at Duo. [1]

Duo grinned. "'Fei's just like that, Qat."

Quatre looked troubled again as he sat on the other side of the bed. "I don't know... He seemed distracted or something."

Trowa was brushing his teeth in the bathroom, listening to their talk and not commenting. He had seen it too, something _was_ off with Wufei.

"Your teeth are clean Tro'!" Duo yelled.

"We want to know what's happening in the story!" Quatre called.

Trowa smiled and spit.

~

Wufei paced Duo's room. Well, he did the best he could with the available floor space.

He should not go. It was like... voyeurism! It was low and he would be invading their privacy... But the story was about him, right? So listening was justified! It was his right—no, his _obligation_ to listen in! To hear what they were saying about... about him... and...

Wufei growled and left Duo's room.

Damn Trowa... How could he do this to him? What was this "her" and "she" stuff? And why Heero...? How could he have possibly...

Wufei came to a stop in front of Trowa's door.

"Where was I?" Trowa's voice was quiet by nature and then muffled by the door, making it hard to hear.

"Wufei is being taken to the castle!" Quatre aided.

Wufei frowned. Why did they want to hear this? How could someone enjoy something so incredibly embarrassing for him?

"Ah…of course..." Trowa's soothing voice started the story once again.

~()~

The light, glorious laughter of a child filled a world of blinding white light.

Like the fading of a rainbow played backwards, a figure started to develop in the endless white. Two braids of black silk were knotted on each side of a face still chubby in her toddler-hood. Meiran, age two, was running and giggling at nothing visible.

"'ufei?" She called in the middle of her giggles. "'ufei!"

"Wufei? Your sister is calling you! Why don't you play?" He heard his mother's voice speaking from all around him. It sounded... different. Lighter, happier...

The little girl started to run away, a little unsteady. He tried to call to her to be careful, but his voice didn't work... Why did his throat hurt so much?

Meiran...

~

Wufei's eyes opened slowly. It felt as though something were sitting on his chest, a dull pain that took him a moment to place. It wasn't physical at all, this pain. He swallowed hard as tears sent threatening stings to his eyes. No, he was done crying. He wasn't a child... anymore...

Something about the thought nagged at his mind... had he dreamt of being a child…? The memory was already gone...

"Wufei?"

Wufei blinked a few times and tried to sit up but immediately he was held down.

"Don't try, you need to rest." His mother's face came into view. She looked incurably tired. "How are you feeling?"

Wufei opened his mouth and tried to speak, but no sound was produced.

Mrs. Chang frowned deeply. "Don't worry, that will pass with more rest." He felt that she said that more to herself than to him. "We're in the palace." She told him. "You were...asleep in the forest when he found you... he insisted that he stay with you..."

Wufei frowned in confusion. He? Found? What was she talking about?

Mrs. Chang sighed. "I suppose I have to get him... He was very clear on wanting to see you once you woke up..." Her face disappeared, leaving Wufei staring at the ceiling in confusion.

What was happening? He was at the palace, but why? And why couldn't he talk?

"Wufei..."

That voice... With that voice it all came into sharp clarity. He had fallen into...what? Darkness, grief, insanity... and He had pulled him out. That was who had found him, who wanted to see him, who was the only connecter Wufei still had to this cruel and unjust plane of existence...

_'Heero...'_ Why did the words flow from his mind but stop at his throat?

A warm, callused pressure on his hand and dip in the bed beside him, and then...

Soft hair that looked softer because it was perpetually messy, frighteningly intense eyes that currently held worry in their endless depths, strong jaw and sun-tinted skin...

"Wufei..." He seemed uneasy, as though he had too many things to say and couldn't decide which to say first. "Are you alright?" he decided.

Wufei opened his mouth and desperately tried to do anything, make any kind of sound. He had so much to say, but his problem was more serious than indecision.

Heero's brow knitted together. "What's wrong? Why can't you speak?"

Wufei's mouth shut and he glared at the utter stupidity of the question.

Heero's brow smoothed and for a moment he almost smiled. "Stupid question." He confirmed. Then he actually did smile. It scared Wufei immensely. "I think I like you better this way."

Wufei glared and would have hit Heero, had he the strength.

Heero's smile dropped and his face softened so much and so quickly that it startled Wufei. "I was so worried." He said under his breath, more a vocalized thought than a statement meant to be heard. "Don't ever leave me again." It could have been meant to be a joke, but the words held more conviction then they should have. Heero tightened his hold on Wufei's hand, and Wufei's throat tightened in answer.

~

"He's here!"

This was the only warning Zechs had that Hilde was entering his room. He glanced quickly to the next room from where he was sitting. Thankfully it was closed off from the small sitting room they were in. "Who is here?" he asked distractedly.

Hilde fell onto the couch beside Zechs with the air of someone who had run miles just to get to that couch. "Wufei!"

This was enough to pull Zechs' attention away from his bedchamber door. "_She_ is always here."

Hilde fixed him with a firm gaze that was the polar opposite of subtle. "_He_ has never spent the night, not to mention three."

Silence.

"Are you going to tell me why you keep speaking of her as male, or do I have to beg?" Zechs asked. Normally he was charmed by Hilde's spunk, but at the moment there was someone sleeping in the next room. If woken, it would prove to be a rather awkward situation.

"Wufei's a man!" Hilde shouted.

Zechs glanced once again to the door before turning a raised eyebrow on Hilde. "You're joking."

Hilde looked oddly serious. "Not at all."

She now had Zechs' full attention. "She is?"

Hilde nodded and told him the entire story, finishing up with, "I saw him, I saw his chest..." She mumbled, doubt still muddying her resolve. "No, not even the flattest of girls..." Then with grim certainty, she stated, "Wufei is definitely a guy."

Zechs sank back into the couch, his hand going to his mouth as he let it sink in.

"I've been dying to tell someone." Hilde went on as he thought. "I found out a few days ago. At the time, I was almost sure I was gonna let him tell Heero, but now this! I mean... This is bad, right?"

A slow smile curled behind Zechs' hand. "I wouldn't say that..."

Hilde tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

Zechs let his hand drop from his face to reveal a wicked smirk. "I had always hoped..."

Hilde felt the unpleasant prickle of suspicion. "You aren't thinking..."

Zechs suddenly looked ecstatic. "Heero has fallen for a man. My chances have just boosted incredibly."

Hilde glared. "Zechs! This is a lot more important than your Harem Project! Don't you get it?! Don't you have any idea what's going on? Or has the new Weapons Master kept you so busy that you've lost all connection with Palace gossip?"

Zechs stiffened ever so slightly. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He said evenly.

Hilde rolled her eyes. "Scandal is the only thing I'm good at, I know my stuff. Weapons Master Khushrenada has been dodging his duties, you have been nearly non-existent, that is except for your 'fencing lessons'. And if those weren't enough..." She jerked her thumb towards the back of the room. "His uniform is rumpled next to your doorway." Her smugness was almost tangible.

Zechs leaned over slightly to see where she was pointing. A blue and gold coat lay a few inches from the doorway, the weapons master insignia shining bright and obvious from the shoulder as though it were lit from the interior. A few..._other_ uniform pieces also littered the floor nearby. Zechs straightened and cleared his throat. "I see."

Hilde glanced over his shoulder with a self-righteous grin. "He in there now? Maybe I could say hi?"

Zechs grimaced. "What do you want?"

Hilde smiled innocently. "Leave Heero alone and I'll forget I ever saw him."

"Done." Zechs said quickly. He relaxed a little after that. "Now, what was this gossip you were speaking of?"

Hilde's short-lived high spirits fell, and when she spoke she was gravely serious. Zechs had never seen her like this, and in turn he listened to her with more care than he ever had before. "Silvia isn't coming." Hilde nearly whispered. "Heero's canceled their engagement."

~

Heero sat at Wufei's side for a long while, holding his hand with his eyes turned downward, obviously lost in thought. Wufei swallowed hard but knew it wouldn't help. He wanted to ask what was wrong but he couldn't force a grunt past his throat, let alone an actual sentence.

"Wufei..." Heero spoke finally, his eyes crawling up but quickly darting away from Wufei's face. "We need to talk..." he paused and his hand tightened around Wufei's. "When you can speak again. I have something..." he stopped and nodded to himself. "When you can speak again."

Wufei watched Heero, worry clenching his heart as he cursed his ailment.

Heero stood, his hand still firmly clasping Wufei's. "I have to go..." He looked either nervous or upset, Wufei couldn't decide which. Heero brought their hands to his face, pressing Wufei's to his lips.

Wufei's eyes widened as he realized how tired Heero looked, his eyes lined with dark circles and his face thinner than Wufei remembered being. He tried once again to speak but came to the same conclusion as with his other attempts. Heero placed Wufei's hand back on the bed and walked away.

It was another few minutes before Wufei heard the door close.

~()~

Trowa paused in thought. He was starring at the floor unfocused as he searched for what to say next. Story telling was a delicate thing, he had learned. How soon should he come to the end? How long could he put it off? How long _should_ he? And what was the end? He had started with a Cinderella idea...

He blinked. Something was wrong with the spot he was staring at, he realized. The tiny slice of light that usually sneaked into the room from the hallway through the bottom of his bedroom door was gone. Trowa frowned as he tried to imagine what would be blocking the light in front of his-

"TROWA!!"

Trowa jumped. "What?"

Duo was glaring at him. "What are you doing? You can't end there!"

"Oh...right..." Trowa pulled his eyes and mind away from the doorway for the time being. "Um..."

~()~

Zechs watched as a still troubled Hilde left his room. He had been unable to help her with her predicament. What could he say? Any answer in this situation would lead to trouble. Could she just walk away? Was it possible?

Zechs sighed and stretched, draping his body across the over-stuffed couch. So Heero was gay...Or was he? He had been under the impression that Wufei was a woman, so did that truly mean he was homosexual? Maybe the answer wasn't as simple as sexuality. Either way, Zechs felt cheated. He had been interested in Heero since puberty struck and unearthed Zechs' unconventional desires. It wasn't love, he had learned rather harshly... Or maybe it had been. How could he know? He had yet to feel that way about anyone since... Maybe it had been love, or a variation of it. It was gone now, what ever it was. Yet he still felt as though he had missed something, some small chance at something deeper than The Harem Project, as Hilde so eloquently put it.

Everyone seemed to have someone they loved... or at least cared for deeply... In all his affairs he had yet to find someone that he actually _cared_ for. As he came to this realization, a deep sadness and sense of loss settled on his heart. What had he been doing all this time? Heero had found someone to love on his first try, and he always seemed to be so cold and uncaring. How could Zechs have found _no one_ when he was so open and...

Zechs eyes widened slightly as he realized that he _wasn't_ open. He was distant emotionally in every relationship he had. Men had even offered to stay with him, had admitted love ─he now remembered with a pang of guilt─ and he had broken off their relationship with out so much as an "I'm sorry, but..."

Zechs gritted his teeth in anger. Why couldn't he have what they did? Why couldn't he love someone? What made _them_ so special?

"That is new expression." A deep and liquid voice woke him from his reverie.

Zechs looked up from his silent jealousy to see his previous..._guest_...awake and gloriously nude, standing in his doorway with a soft smile on his lips. His hair was slightly tousled, as were the sheets behind him in the room that housed Zechs' bed.

"I'm not sure I like it..." Treize went on. He walked over and passed Zechs to pick up a shirt from the floor. Finding it not to be his, he tossed it aside and looked around the room again. "Whatever could be wrong?" when Zechs didn't answer he turned to see the younger man staring blankly away. He curved a thick eyebrow and walked over to the couch Zechs was resting on. "Zechs?" When those icy blue eyes crawled over to meet his he repeated his query. "What's wrong?"

Zechs stood quickly and shook his head. "Nothing. I..." he started to walk away. "I'm just..."

Treize caught Zechs by the waist, embracing him from behind.

Zechs relaxed into his arms. "When can I see you again?"

Treize smiled softly. "Whenever you wish..."

~

Queen Heather hunched over a table covered in sketches, fabrics and a large pile of letters from politicians, nobility and other miscellaneous dignitaries. She shuffled a few things, more for show than to find something she was missing. "You are sure...darling?" she asked gently, keeping her eyes on the table and not the figure behind her.

Heero walked over and placed his palms against the little free space left on the table. He stared at his mother intently from across the planning materials, drawing her reluctant eyes to his. "Yes." He said firmly.

"There will be trouble." Heather warned. "She isn't nobility, she's foreign..." she trailed off as she searched for more arguments.

Heero straightened and rubbed his palm where an overlooked scrap of material had left an odd indentation. "Father is just happy I'm agreeing to take the throne, you should be too."

"And what about her? Is she ready to be Queen?" His mother contested.

Heero was silent for a long while. "She would make a good Queen." He said finally.

Heather's eyes narrowed. "That isn't what I asked."

Heero looked at her sharply. "The decision is made. Deal with it."

Heather sighed tiredly. "Stubborn, just like your father..." she muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Heather said quickly with well hidden bitterness.

~()~

As Quatre and Duo settled against him for sleep, Trowa's eyes drifted to the light at the bottom of the door, now clearly visible. The moon moved slowly across the sky as Trowa mulled over a theory slowly forming about the reason behind the fluctuating light.

To be continued...

Next Chapter:  
In which Wufei goes on a quest which proves to be more difficult than he would have liked.

[1] Whenever I see Quatre glare in my mind, it's incredibly cute. He can be completely serious, but a glare from Quatre is actually _anti_-threatening. I call it a peeved kitten glare because if you've ever seen an angry kitten you know that no matter how pissed it is, it still looks cute somehow. Long explanation ^_^;; sorry!


	15. Chapter Fifteen

It's actually here O.O [shocking music]  
-Me

Name, Author, Archive & Feedback: Eh, you should know all this by now...  
Couples: 15 & 2x3x4 (Um...you wouldn't be here if ya didn't like these)  
Disclaimer: [Insert witty renouncing of ownership here]

**Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon A Cross Dresser  
Chapter Fifteen******

On Wednesday morning at approximately 10:30 the bathroom was filled with the loud belting of a random pop song. The shower was at full blast, but despite the water's valiant effort its sound was all but drowned out. Steam filled the air; it twisted in delicate patterns when the shower's occupant made even the slightest movement. Because said occupant was dancing in his random gleeful singing, every inch of the waterlogged air swirled and whooshed around him in a miniscule backup dance. But as every one does, the show had to end; signaled by a twist of the faucet and a swish of the plastic shower curtain.

His concert finished, Duo grabbed a couple of towels. Once they were in place—one around his waist and the other somehow covering every inch of sopping wet golden-brown hair, Duo wiped off a small circle of condensation from the bathroom mirror and flashed it his best grin. He quickly dropped it and winced before grabbing his toothbrush and some 'paste. Another grin when he was done and a finally satisfied Duo opened the door, taking no notice of the cloud of airborne water following him out. He then jogged over to his room to grab some clothes for the coming day.

It should be said here that humans are naturally beings of routine, and that even some of the most flexible and easy going people fall victim to their own habits. This is exactly why Duo Maxwell ran face first into his door.

His forehead met two inches of solid wood with a wince-inducing thunk, followed quickly by a shouted curse that would have made Quatre scowl had he been witness. Duo rubbed his sore forehead and glared at the locked door. Never, since the room had been his, had his door been locked. If asked, Duo probably couldn't have told you if the door even _had_ a lock, since he never technically tried it.

Duo knocked loudly with the hand that wasn't nursing his wound. "Fei? You in there?"

There was a sudden shuffling. "Yes." Wufei grunted from inside.

Duo cleared his throat and tried to keep from laughing. "What are you doing...?" he inquired in a suggestive tone.

The door opened quickly with a mussed and angry Wufei within. "What is it?" he demanded impatiently.

Duo crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh, I dunno. Since this _is_ my room, I thought I'd visit it a sec."

"I'm busy." Wufei huffed and started to reclose the door.

Duo shot out a hand to stop it from shutting. "Hey! I'm naked here!" He pushed against the door. "I need clothes!"

"This is urgent!" Wufei grunted as he struggled to push the door closed.

"It's my room!" Duo shouted back and threw all his weight against the door.

He didn't quite think the action through, and consequently lost both towels in the struggle. Duo, well used to being nude, did not noticed this. Wufei however, did. He turned bright red and abruptly stopped pushing against his side of the door. Duo's weight swung it open without any resistance, sending him right through the doorway and into Wufei. Having no chance against Duo's force in his condition, Wufei immediately lost his balance and they both landed on floor in one confused, pissed and embarrassed heap.

Duo winced and propped himself up on this palms. This is about when he realized that he was A) naked and B) all but straddling a C) half naked Wufei. This was about when Duo turned as red as the man beneath him.

"Get off of me." Wufei growled.

"Gladly!" Duo chirped and crawled awkwardly backward. Before he could get completely off of the bright red ball of discomfort, Duo's bare hind pieces met interference.

"Well, this is interesting." Trowa's overly calm voice floated from behind him, cracked a little by a snicker quickly disguised as a cough.

Duo stood quickly and grinned at his amused lover, his face still on fire with embarrassment. "Hey Tro'! Wanna take over for me? Thanks!" The door to Quatre's room was closed behind the nude Duo before Trowa could open his mouth.

Trowa watched him go with barely contained laughter. He glanced back at Wufei, who was straightening his pants. He was, for one reason or another, lacking a shirt. Trowa didn't say anything; he just shut the door and left Wufei to whatever he was doing before...whatever he and Duo were doing to end up on the floor with only a pair of pants between them...

"But he's been locked in there all day!" Quatre exclaimed, gesturing in the general direction of Duo's room.

Duo was sitting on Quatre's bed, trying to look completely absorbed in picking at the pale blue sweater he had borrowed earlier. "He's fine. He'll come out when he wants to. You have anything...darker?"

Quatre crawled on to his bed and over to kneel in front of Duo, his lip dipped in the tiniest of pouts. "You saw him earlier right? Trowa said you guys had a..." he thought for a moment. "A group activity... or something like that... Was he okay?"

"At least a darker blue?" Duo asked.

Quatre tackled Duo in a hug, shocking him into paying attention. "I'm serious Duo!"

Duo laughed and pushed Quatre back a little. "He's fine, I promise."

"Quatre? Duo?" Trowa called from another room.

"We're in my room!" Quatre called back, bouncing out of Duo's arms to open his bedroom door.

Trowa appeared a moment later, pulling Quatre over to the bed with a light smile. "I thought that since Wufei is...occupying himself." He glanced quickly over to Duo. "We could continue Once Upon A Cross Dresser...?"

()

Wufei slowly came into consciousness. He had dreamt again, but the image faded as reality started to seep back into his mind. The dream was gone before he opened his eyes.

The sun was dim, already fading as the day grew old and night snuck onto the horizon. The room was deathly quiet and when Wufei raised his head he found himself alone. The bedroom was larger than any he had slept in, or even been inside before. The bed was so large that he could roll over three times and not fall off, and it only took up a fraction of the room. There was a small bed a few feet away, which Wufei figured was temporarily his mother's.

_'What does that make this, your permanent bed? Is this your room now?' _His inner cynical voice inquired.

Wufei's heart sped up and his stomach lurched in the same instant at the memory of Heero's tender visit. He had seen so much in Heero's eyes when he spoke his fears... The most frightening of which he was trying to deny.

_'You know what you saw...You have seen it in yourself... He is in love with you!'_

Wufei hunched over and pressed his palms to face. "No!" he growled. This couldn't happen! It was okay if Wufei loved Heero, he could leave and no one else would be hurt... but if Heero returned his feelings...

Wufei threw the covers off of himself and jumped out of bed. The world seemed to skew suddenly and Wufei had to shut his eyes and grab onto the nearest solid object before he fell over. When the dizzy spell passed, a few choice curse words popped into his head. This wasn't going to be easy, it probably wasn't smart and he would most likely make himself worse, but his lies were making him more ill than whatever made his limbs so weak. It was far past the time to let them go.

With his teeth gritted in determination, Wufei pushed away from the bed and fought for balance. Once he was somewhat stable he shuffled foreword, paying sharp attention to his balance. If he fell even once outside his room, he would be bound to his bed for days, he was sure.

Wufei's fingers curled around his bedroom door frame, his other pale and clammy-palmed hand wrapped carefully across his stomach to conceal his laboring breath. He was fatigued already and he had yet to leave his room. Another inward curse set him off on his search. But where to look? Would he be training still? Or in some library studying?

Wufei's hands prickled. The royal library... How much knowledge could such a place hold? Wisdom of countless centuries, from this and surrounding countries collected and placed in one room. The Royal Library... the promised land for philosophers...

_"'ufei!"__ A young Meiran pulled at his sleeve, causing him to drop the book in his hand and loose the page he had been reading._

_"Meiran!"__ Wufei yelled and tore his arm away from her pudgy fingers. "Look at what you did!" He snatched the book up from the grass and dusted it off with a frown._

_Meiran's__ little jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed. "'ufei! I wanna play!" She pulled at his arm again, careful not to knock the book from his hands this time. She hated when he yelled at her. "Books are boring!"_

Wufei's soul ached as the memory came back, an insignificant shard of time that nevertheless sliced at his heart. His throat tightened and his eyes stung but he forced himself to breathe and continue walking. He _had _to go on.

The palace looked large from the outside, but trying to navigate through it without any knowledge of where he was or where he was going, it was infinitely massive to Wufei. Remarkable and most unlucky was the fact that he wasn't running into anyone. No servants, residents, other guests, his family..._no one_.

Wufei's eyes were losing focus and with every step his limbs lost strength. He stopped and leaned against a nearby wall. His hair was sticking uncomfortably to his neck with the perspiration that covered his body. His chest heaved and his head ached. He slid down the wall and onto the floor, one hand to his chest and the other still clutching his stomach. Tears flowed freely from his eyes as he now lacked the strength to hold them back. He could have stayed there for hours, resting and crying for all he knew or cared, but after an unknown amount of time he was interrupted.

"Um...excuse me but, are you okay?" A kind feminine voice inquired.

Wufei opened his eyes slowly, lacking even the strength to do that.

A young girl in the off-white robes Wufei had seen servants wear stood a few feet away, a basket with the contents covered with a cloth held in her arms. She had shoulder-length dark red hair that held large natural curls that cupped her ears and brushed against her face. She looked concerned and a little hesitant.

Wufei opened his mouth to speak, but once again his voice refused to work.

The girl frowned a moment, then her eyes widened. "You're that girl! The prince's..." She stopped and bowed as deeply as her burden allowed her. "Forgive me!" She looked up, still bent over in a bow. "Are you hurt?"

Wufei bit his cheek. He hated the thought of asking for help, especially from a girl many years younger than he. He would also be admitting how sick he was, which meant he would be bound to that damn bed for even longer. He shook his head and, biting his cheek until coppery blood bloomed from the spot, he stood. His back slid up the wall as he struggled to keep his knees from giving out.

The servant girl watched him with a maternal sort of worry, but she kept silent.

Once he was stable—or close to it, anyway—Wufei glanced around him, trying to remember which way he had come.

"Are you lost?" The girl asked, eager to help.

Wufei reluctantly nodded.

"Are you trying to get to your room?" she asked, her voice automatically taking on the voice one uses with a child.

Wufei repressed his anger. She was his only hope at finding Heero and he couldn't risk it, no matter how satisfying it would be to give her a little fright... He shook his head in answer to her question.

The girl frowned. "The doctor?"

Wufei shook his head again, his hopes dropping.

The girl thought for a moment, her hands twisting around the handle of her basket.

Wufei looked at the basket she held. The cloth that covered it was uneven and lumpy and the smell that escaped from it made Wufei's long empty stomach growl. _Loudly_.

The girl giggled, a light and joyous sound that made Wufei's heart ache again. "The kitchens?" she asked with a warm smile. "That's where I was going."

Wufei shook his head slowly, his eyes never leaving the basket.

The girl's smile dropped but she reached inside and under the cloth. A small loaf of bread was produced and given to Wufei, still warm from the oven. "Just because you aren't going there, doesn't mean you aren't hungry."

Wufei dipped his head as he accepted the bread, something that made the servant momentarily uncomfortable. "Well..." She shifted her weight. "Where could you be going then...?"

Wufei pulled a bit off of the loaf and ate it as slowly as he could with his stomach rumbling in protest.

"Well...the only other thing I can think of is the prince..." she mumbled.

Wufei nearly choked on his bread. He nodded quickly to the girl as he tried to swallow and cough at the same time.

The girl smiled and clapped. "I guessed it!" She then realized Wufei's struggle. "Oh!" she put down her basket and ran over to him. "Are you okay?" She asked, patting Wufei on the back.

Wufei nodded and swallowed.

When Wufei stopped coughing she spoke again. "I have to get the bread over before it gets cold...will you be okay by yourself?"

Wufei nodded.

The girl frowned. "If you're sure..."

She gave him directions and they parted with a bow that made the girl uncomfortable again. As Wufei walked away chewing his bread and looking for the hallway he was supposed to turn at, he realized that she never told him her name.

()

Wufei paced the small strip of clear floor that he had created in Duo's room for that very purpose. The room was dark; the only existing light was the flickering glow of Duo's computer screen. It ran through searches that Wufei had lost hope in as he paced, trying to come up with another idea. He had spent all day in front of that computer with no progress. Admittedly he wasn't the best hacker of the group...he was probably the worst in fact, but he should have been able to come up with _something _by now.

The flickering stopped and Wufei wearily glanced over. His breath hitched and he rushed over.

MATCH: 01 FOUND

Wufei's stomach tightened as his eyes fell on the match: a phone number. No name or address, just a phone number. It was so simple, only a collection of digits... It was only a number, but it made Wufei simultaneously nervous and exited. It could be wrong... but what if it wasn't?

Wufei dropped into Duo's chair and stared at it.

What if it worked?

()

_'Down the hall, turn left on the fourth corner, right on the next...'_ Wufei went through the directions in his head, partially to remember but mostly to stay focused. It was a miracle that he didn't need to take stairs, but it was still a long way to the room the servant girl _thought_ Heero was in.

_'Large double doors at the end...'_ Wufei turned the last corner and with overwhelming relief, found the doors he was looking for. He shuffled over as quickly as he could manage as the unpleasant image of a desert wanderer finding water popped into his head. He rapped on the heavy and ornately carved wooden doors with a disgusted look at his sickly pale hand.

The door opened to a very large guard with a blank look and sharp looking spear.

Wufei was too tired and too..._Wufei_...to be intimidated. He glared at the man and tried to come up with a way to mime his needs.

"Who is it?" A woman's voice came from somewhere behind the bulk of guard.

The guard analyzed Wufei a moment before barking, "Who are you?"

Wufei tapped his throat and opened his mouth a few times, a defiant hardness in his eyes that let the guard know that he was not happy about making a fool of himself.

The guard had obviously never played charades. "What?" he looked quite puzzled.

Wufei dropped his hand and glowered at the man. He wasn't very threatening however, being covered in sweat and unsteady with one arm wrapped tightly around his waist.

The woman spoke again. "Oh just let them in! There are so many guards in here they'd be stupid to try anything." She sounded bitter at the fact.

The guard looked oddly at Wufei one last time before stepping aside. Wufei walked past him with a smug smirk.

The room wasn't as big as his bedroom, but since it was apparently a study of some sort, it was not inconsiderable. Two walls had large windows that overlooked the palace gardens, which was a stunningly beautiful sight but completely wasted on an uninterested Wufei. A large desk stood in the middle of the room, covered entirely with pieces of paper and scraps of fabric. A couple of overstuffed chairs sat in front of the desk and shelves full of old pottery and glass lined one of the windowless walls.

Behind the desk a woman stood, flanked by four more burly guards. The woman's dark hair was held back in a pearl studded net with a few strands carefully curled around her face. She had pale skin and eyes the color of the sky as it turned to night. She was older, a few strands of her hair were an elegant silver, and when she smiled at him her face wrinkled slightly to show the expression was used frequently. She looked strangely familiar.

"You must be Wufei." She spoke with a hint of girlish glee.

"Bow." The guard behind him said gruffly, more of an order than a suggestion.

Wufei did so a little grudgingly. It wasn't that he didn't want to bow, he was just angry that he had not done so earlier and had to be instructed.

She was smiling when Wufei lifted his head again. "I'm Heero's mother." She said. "I've heard so much about you, I'm glad we finally meet." She laughed. "And alone, no less."

Wufei glanced around, so caught up in the situation that he hadn't noticed Heero wasn't there. _'Great.'_ He thought gloomily. _'I've heard a lot about you too. I would really rather not face you alone...'_

"Please, sit." The queen gestured to one of the chairs. "You must be so excited about the party."

_'Party?' _Wufei dipped his head and gratefully sat down.

"Oh dear! Are you okay?" Heather touched her hand to her lips in concern, only then noticing Wufei's strain. "Oh!" it dawned on her. "Your sickness! I'm so sorry..." she turned to one of the guards. "Take her back to—"

Wufei waved his hands and shook his head quickly, which a sharp headache made him regret.

Heather jumped back and stared at him oddly. "What?!" then after a moment her surprise cleared. "Oh! You came all this way to see Heero and I'm trying to send you back."

Wufei's eyes widened. She actually understood him?

Heather smiled softly. "I was a young girl once too, you know. Ahh..." she looked off with a wistful sigh. "Summer days spent giggling with my sisters over courtiers..."

Wufei had to quickly hide his anger at being thought of as a love-struck teenage girl.

()

Wufei shut Duo's door behind him without really realizing he was moving. His mind was working nonstop behind his constant mask of annoyance, so his body was currently on autopilot. That is, until he walked past Quatre's door and heard the low hum of Trowa's voice. He was speaking in the hushed and steady tone that Wufei had connected to the odd story he was telling Quatre and Duo.

_'They started already?'_ Wufei thought, oddly disappointed that he missed some of it.

He called it morbid fascination and avidly denied that it could be narcissism. Truthfully, he knew that it stung him deep in an old wound he had tried to forget.

He lay down on the floor in front of Quatre's door, his ear near the crack between the bottom of the door and the carpet. Wufei slipped his hand inside his pocket and withdrew a small bit of notepaper. He didn't look at it. He didn't need to because he knew exactly what it said. It was only a number. A simple phone number.

()

"...the decorations will be blue and pure white, I'm thinking..." Heather was a good fifteen minutes into a long and mind numbingly detailed description of her planning phases for a party of some sort. Wufei was apparently supposed to know what party she was speaking of. "Simple, yet elegant. Much like my dear son I should think." She said with a smile.

Wufei swallowed the bark of laughter that tried to jump out this throat, then immediately regretted it as it may have been the only noise he had produced from his defective throat.

The doors creaked loudly behind him and Wufei turned just as Heather's voice toned a light-hearted "speak of the devil" from behind her desk.

Heero didn't even glance at his enraging—though well meaning—mother. His eyes immediately went to Wufei and didn't leave him the entirety of his visit.

"And what good fortune too." Heather continued. "I was just discussing the plans for your party with your..."

"Not now." Heero spoke to his mother as he did to Hilde, briefly and with a constant undertone of annoyance. He was already at Wufei's side and was now kneeling to gently touch his forehead. "What are you doing here?" he asked with a hint of bewilderment.

_'Just chatting with your dear mother, or rather, being talked at for five solid hours about napkin rings while you take your sweet time getting here. I'm here to see you anyway! Nearly killed myself to get here only to have your mother as my reward!'_ Wufei thought with a venomous glare that he hoped conveyed this.

Heero's lip twitched, the only sign of his well contained humor. "I'll take you back."

"Ohh..." Queen Heather sounded genuinely disappointed. "We were getting along so well too. You sure you don't want to stay? I do have a few questions I need answering, we only have a couple of days left to plan..." Her helplessness was, however, obviously not genuine.

"You have a fever." Heero spoke to Wufei and ignored his mother. "You shouldn't have left your bed." He said sternly.

Once again Wufei was going to do something that was both stupid and hazardous to his health. He had searched Heero out to be a man, admit his lies and honorably accept the consequences. Maybe he had romanticized it a bit in his head but even so, Heero's condescending admonishment cut at Wufei's all too important pride. He may be lying, cross dressing and a possible suspect of gold digging but he was still a man (contrary to popular belief) and a man had his pride if nothing else!

Wufei pushed away Heero's hand, though later he would remember that tenderness with a mixture of unease and secret pleasure. It took an unnerving amount of energy to push himself to stand from his chair, but he did so with a face as untroubled as a still pond—the image he kept firmly in his head as his vision skewed and his legs shook.

"Wufei...?" Heero looked up at him from where he was still kneeling, oblivious to his insult.

Wufei wouldn't have answered if he could. He simply walked out of the room as calm and steady as that pond's image.

Once the door was closed behind him by a couple of unsure guards, Wufei fell against the wall and gasped in breath. There was new sweat on his skin that made everything uncomfortable and his limbs felt numb and useless. None of this mattered, however, in the shadow of his victory. He had shown his strength! He would accept no help or pity for his sickness and he damn well wouldn't allow that kind of talk to be directed at him again!

"A lovely girl, very spirited and a wonderful listener." Heather said softly. "I see now why you're so taken with her."

Heero looked so adorably uncomfortable. Heather made a wicked mental note to share this with her daughter. "Now dear, about the main course..."

Heero turned swiftly and walked towards the door.

Heather pouted. "If you don't choose, I _will_ choose for you and you _won't_ like it!" The double doors closed on her last word.

Wufei was leaning heavily against the wall a few feet away, but straightened immediately after the door closed.

Heero was torn between worry and anger. To say that she looked ill was an understatement. It was scaring him as much as, but in a different way than when he found her on the forest floor.

She didn't look at him right away. She seemed to be concentrating extremely hard on the floor in front of her and the arm that remained constantly around her stomach was clenched harder than her jaw, which looked as though she would soon crush her teeth.

Heero's anger quickly diminished. He was at her side in a moment. "What's wrong?"

She pushed him away, which was aggravating but not at all surprising. He was glad she couldn't speak at the moment, otherwise he was sure her mouth would be running with words as scorching as the look in her eyes.

Heero's anger came back stronger. "I'm not apologizing for being concerned. You should be in bed." He said in his coldest and calmest voice.

This seemed to piss off Wufei to her striking point. Now she glared at him quite often, it was so common that Heero had deciphered a hidden language in them. The way she looked at him now most clearly said something in the area of: "Die slowly by my hand." She started to walk away.

Heero was once again torn. He could either go back to his mother's "study" (Which, by the way, was never used for what one would usually call studying) and get his part of the planning over with, he could stay there until Wufei was out of sight and head up to his rooms, or he could go after her and make sure she got to her rooms without fainting.

His lip twitched. '_Who am I kidding?_' he thought while jogging the little way that Wufei had gone during Heero's turmoil.

Wufei pointedly ignored him as they walked. She tried to walk steadily, but she swayed and walked into Heero a few times, which made her even angrier, if that were possible. She was also breathing audibly, which worried Heero more than anything.

Finally, when she swayed so much that she was in danger of falling over, Heero grabbed her by the shoulders. "Will you stop?" he snapped.

The "die" glare returned.

"I know you're strong." Where others would raise their voice when they were angry, Heero's got lower and quieter. He was so upset now that his muscles were twitching and his voice was so low that that it hummed in his chest. "But you aren't proving anything but blind stubbornness! If you keep this up I will have to carry you back unconscious like the day I brought you back from the forest!"

Wufei's anger dropped and she looked shocked.

So he had said it on purpose because he knew she didn't remember, but he needed a little vengeance after what she put him through. It was enough to vent his anger. He took her arm and placed it across his shoulders, took her by the waist to relieve some of her weight. She was frighteningly thin, but Heero wasn't about to risk her storming off again by mentioning it.

Whether she was still in shock or finally accepting his help, he didn't know. The important thing was that she didn't pull away and actually let him help her for the rest of the way back.

"My mother likes you." Heero spoke after a while. "She says you're a great listener." His lip twitched. "I can't wait for her to meet you once you can speak again."

She actually smiled. It was weak and she was trying to hold it back but it was there, and it helped to ease Heero's hesitance about speaking.

"She's going too far with this party..." he said without thinking. The party... he had yet to speak a word about it to Wufei. How much had his mother told her? "It's for my birthday." He said and looked sideways at her.

Wufei's face seemed to clear and she made a small "oh" with her lips.

Heero relaxed considerably. If she didn't know that, she couldn't possibly know everything.

By the time they reached Wufei's room, Heero was doing most of her walking for her. She looked exhausted but glad they were finally there. When they entered, Wufei's mother was waiting. She looked worse than Heero felt when he first saw Wufei in Heather's study. She said something under her breath in a language Heero didn't understand and rushed up to help.

Wufei's mother was obviously saying the same kind of things Heero had, though he wasn't exactly sure. She was giving a long and fluid speech of some sort and shaking her head as she led them to Wufei's bed. Heero was shocked into complete silence. Wufei just kept her head down and let her mother go on without any anger whatsoever. He followed the woman's orders on where to lay her down without a word and stood back until she was done with her speech.

Wufei's mother took a few deep breaths as she looked down at her daughter with a disappointed frown. She then turned to Heero and bowed. "I'm sorry for your trouble. My daughter is foolish."

Heero was still shocked. He glanced past her to Wufei, but her eyes were cast away in... '_shame__?!_' To say that Heero was confused would be an understatement.

Wufei's mother bowed again. "I'm sorry, but she needs her rest..."

Heero nodded. "I would like to speak to her alone for a moment."

Mrs. Chang hesitated. From the bed Wufei gave Heero a quick glare.

"Please?" Heero added with a questioning look to Wufei.

Mrs. Chang was frowning, but she nodded and left the room.

When the door closed, Heero went over to sit on the edge of the bed. As he looked down at her he felt the sudden need to touch her, to make some kind—any kind of contact, but she was covered to her neck. He knotted his fingers together and tried to focus on speaking. "It's okay for your mother to worry about you?" his voice came out colder than he meant it.

Wufei smirked and nodded. Her eyes may have been dropping and her every breath was a yawn, but she was never too tired to piss him off.

Heero's anger twisted in his stomach but he kept it from his words. "You need to be well for my birthday." He said. "I need you to be there." He tried to keep his voice even but he was afraid that his nervousness seeped through.

Wufei's face was unreadable to him. She only nodded.

She fell asleep shortly after. Heero stayed in the room until her mother came to shoo him away, and for a while after he lingered in the hall. He felt nervous when he thought of his coming party. He was nervous about asking Wufei to marry him, but now it was different somehow... It wasn't nervousness at all, now that he thought about it. It was...dread?

Later, Wufei awoke to a dark room and overwhelming frustration. He had somehow completely forgotten to tell Heero he wasn't a woman...again.

()

Trowa listened to the delicate song of the breath of his two lovers at his sides, staring blindly in the dark as he went over the story in his mind. Slowly, without realizing it until it reached its destination, Trowa's gaze drifted to Quatre's door and down to the space between it and the carpet. As with his door gap, Quatre's had no light from the hallway seeping through.

Trowa stared at it for a good long while, his mind blank and meditative. He then carefully removed his arms from the boys at his sides and slid out of bed. His bare feet made no noise on the plush carpet as he moved in the darkness. He placed his hand on the cold steel doorknob and twisted slowly. It turned without a sound, and the door opened just as silently as he pulled it even slower.

It was as he suspected, but the answer to his miniature mystery was upsetting nonetheless. Stretched in front of Quatre's door and sleeping quite soundly was none other than the make-believe cross dresser himself, Chang Wufei.

Trowa carefully closed the door and slid back into bed with one thought and one thought only: _'Why am I still alive?'_

To be continued...

Next Chapter:  
In which the fateful party begins, and we are reminded of just how this story began.

* * *

Author End-y Note:  
Thank you for reading! I'm off to Anime Expo XD  
Reading through the reviews (and believe me, I love all of them ) I noticed some questions. If you have any, please feel free to email me or post a comment in my live journal (preferably on the post announcing the new chapter, but it isn't a rule) and I will answer what I can (without revealing too much). It would seem odd to me to post a reply in my review thingy ;;  
As always, I love you all and I'm sorry I'm not better at this ;;;

PS Yay fun with QuickEdit hopefully I can improve the formatting in future chapters.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Name, Author, Archive, Feedback, Couples, Disclaimer: Oh just read it already!

Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon A Cross Dresser  
Chapter Sixteen

Trowa woke despite his best efforts. The bed was warm and comfortable, Duo and Quatre were cuddled at his side still blissfully unconscious, and he was still incredibly tired. He had stayed awake far longer than the other two and still somehow managed to wake up at...

Trowa pulled open his sleep heavy eyes and glanced at the clock. He read 7:23 with an inner groan.He couldn't have slept more than three and a half hours but he was sure that he would not be able to fall asleep again, even if he tried.

His body sore and heavy, Trowa detangled himself from Duo's legs and Quatre's arms with sleepy moans of complaint from both. When he was free, he stretched and scratched at his shoulder—more to wake up his skin than to relieve any kind of itch. He glanced back to the bed and smiled. Duo and Quatre already clung to each other in his absence without either waking up. He regretted leaving their comfort so quickly, but it would be impossible to go back now. He leaned over to place a light kiss to each of their heads and left them to their innocent slumber.

As Trowa's hand fell on his door knob the memory of the other night came back as sharp as the bitter cold of the metal in his warm palm. _'Wufei...'_ Despite the nervous twist in his stomach, he opened the door.

On the floor, right outside, lay Chang Wufei. Trowa, standing in the sliver of space between his sleeping guest and the door way, closed the door with out a thought to do it softly. Wufei's eyes shot open with an inaudible gasp. His eyes flicked up to Trowa and the lightest of pinks tinged his cheeks.

"I..." he started as he sat up, disturbing Kobi who had previously been sleeping in the crook of Wufei's arm. The little cat glared and batted harmlessly at Wufei's leg before scampering off. Wufei jumped to his feet, his eyes turned away as he searched for the rest of his sentence.

Trowa was watching him, still trapped in silence by his uncertainty. The whole situation was awkward and confusing. He considered himself a good friend of Wufei's. With his closest friends, Trowa could make vague predictions of how they would act in various situations. But this was not making any sense. Wufei's behavior was not fitting the mental image Trowa had.

He could have stood there wondering as Wufei tried to say something, anything to excuse his sleeping at Trowa's door, or he could do the only rational thing his shocked mind he could come up with.

"Do you want some coffee?" Trowa asked, his voice still gruff from sleep.

Wufei attempted to pull together a little dignity and nodded.

* * *

Trowa stared intently at the coffee maker and moved around some things on the counter, trying to appear to be busy. Wufei sat at the table behind him—stiff and upright in his chair and unnervingly silent. Trowa wondered how long he could stay there without it being obvious that he was avoiding Wufei.

It was all embarrassing really, knowing that Wufei heard at least a little of the story Trowa created around him. Oh who was he kidding? How long ago was it that he noticed the hall light missing from his door? Trowa stopped turning the mug in his hand and with bravery he wasn't sure he had, walked over and sat at the table. He slid the mug over to Wufei with a tense, "it should be done in a minute."

Wufei wouldn't look at him. He nodded and stared at the mug in front of him, which had taken the place of his previous staring spot: a small nick in the wooden table.

The coffee began to drip into its glass container, hissing as it hit the bottom until enough collected to unite against the hotplate beneath it. The hissing, then the dripping, was the only sound Trowa heard beyond his own pulse in his ears. He knew he had to say something, but what could he say? It wasn't you but the _other_ Wufei I was talking about? That he...

"I didn't mean anything by it." Trowa said, the first thing spoken in what seemed like hours. "They were bored one day and they wanted me to tell them a story... Your name came to mind."

Wufei didn't speak, didn't move, didn't make any acknowledgement that Trowa had even spoken.

"I'm sorry. I'll tell them it's over tonight." Trowa offered.

Wufei breathed deeply and to Trowa's great relief, twitched his lips in a faded version of his signature smirk. "Do you really think they will accept that?"

Trowa smiled faintly but didn't answer.

"No." Wufei said firmly. "They wont...and I wont." He held the mug between his palms, his short caramel colored fingers curling around the base and turning it slowly. "Continue the story. Say what you want. It has no resemblance to me anyway." He stood, mug in hand, and strolled over to the coffee maker. As he poured the dark and fragrant liquid into his mug he spoke again, with less confidence this time. "I do have one question..." he put the decanter back into its cradle. He stirred at his coffee, though he hadn't added anything to stir. "Why Heero?"

Trowa frowned at Wufei's bare back, turned purposely to him. "Why?" Trowa thought a moment. Why did he choose Heero of all people? He had been random, just as Wufei had...hadn't he? "I don't know..." he said honestly. "I didn't want to use Duo, Quatre or myself... and I guess it didn't seem improbable."

Wufei tensed. "Why do you say that?"

It all so suddenly became clear in that moment. It was as though he had always looked at Wufei through a filter, and that it was suddenly taken away. His friend for so many years suddenly seemed so much different. "Wufei..."

Wufei turned and looked straight at Trowa, his endlessly black eyes were solid with defiance, daring him to say one word out of line.

"It's only a fairy tale. Fiction." Trowa said evenly. "You said it yourself; it has no resemblance to you."

Wufei nodded and sat down across from Trowa at the table.

After that, the only sound in the kitchen was the occasional clink of Wufei's spoon against the lip of his mug.

* * *

That night Trowa was hunched over his bed, his hands moving across the sheets to smooth out any wrinkles. His body was moving on autopilot as he made his bed, as his mind was turned inward to heavy thoughts and worries about Wufei. Though things had become considerably clearer, he had a very limited understanding. It was like reading one page of a book—you may have some idea of what was going on, but there are chapters of information missing.

Somewhere in the midst of his ponderings came the sound of his door opening. His mind snapped to attention instantly and a cold calm fled through his body. It wasn't the act of the door opening, but the fact that it was opened carefully and someone had attempted to muffle the tell-tale click. Already bent over, Trowa slowly and as naturally as possible, reached for the gun under his pillow. It wasn't loaded, but the intruder didn't know-

A snort of laughter and an amused, "it's me Tro'" identified the intruder as Duo.

Trowa looked at his hand, frozen halfway in the invisible trail to his gun, with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance.

Duo was laughing behind him. "Quatre! Trowa's tryin' ta kill me!" he whined in a sing-song voice.

Trowa retracted his guilty hand and went back to making his bed with a forced calm. "It wasn't loaded." He informed Duo after a moment.

Duo laughed and wrapped his arms around Trowa's waist from behind as he bent to secure his sheets under the mattress. "I know." Trowa could feel him smirk against his back as Duo whispered: "Neither is mine." Then the smile dropped as he added, "don't tell Quatre," in a deathly serious tone.

"If you don't tell him about mine." Trowa muttered.

Duo let go of Trowa with a nervous chuckle. "Deal."

Quatre walked in just as Duo spoke. He looked from Duo to Trowa with innocent curiosity. "Hm?"

"Nothing." Both Duo and Trowa said quickly with fake and overly happy smiles, Trowa's looking the most unnatural...frightening, even.

"Alright..." Quatre accepted with a hint of suspicion.

"Trowa is gonna tell more Cross Dresser is all." Duo said quickly.

Trowa's stomach dropped.

Quatre's whole face lit up. "Oh great!" he ran over to Duo and grabbed his hand, swinging it a little in his excitement. "Right now?"

"Of course now! Right Tro'?" Duo smiled up at Trowa with an undercurrent of mischief.

Trowa looked from Duo's slightly veiled smugness to Quatre's hopeful anticipation with heavy dread. Just like the day he began his story, and nearly every day since then, there was no way out of the story. The knowledge that Wufei not only knew about the story, but had listened to it on more than one occasion lay heavily in the pit of Trowa's stomach. What if Wufei was listening this time? Could he go on knowing that was highly possible?

Duo's smile faltered. "Um...right Trowa?"

Just like the day he started the story. "Alright..." Trowa conceded despite his doubts.

Quatre smiled and Duo looked relived as they scrambled onto the bed, disheveling everything that Trowa had just done. He wasn't paying attention however.

"I thought you didn't lie." Trowa murmured to Duo when Quatre was busy making himself comfortable.

"As long as you do it, there isn't a problem. You don't want to make a liar out of me, do you?" Duo replied smoothly.

Even if Trowa had a reply to that, he didn't have a chance to speak before Quatre was ready and looking at him expectantly.

Trowa glanced self-consciously to the doorway, but the hall light was off.

* * *

After his trek through the palace, Wufei slept for what felt to him like lifetimes, but amounted to almost over a day. He half-awoke several times in those hours, his dreams blending into what he thought was reality. At one point he was sure he was having a conversation with his mother when she suddenly turned into Heero. He looked shocked and disgusted before fading into another hallucination. Finally the dreams seemed to dissipate, and his sleep was heavy as though it were drug induced.

When he did regain consciousness, it was slowly. He first became aware of the soreness in his limbs, then the intense brightness against his eyelids, then finally the clarity with which he noticed these things. Wufei's eyes shot open, which was mistake that was made more embarrassing by the fact that had _known_ it was bright. As he blinked away the fog that covered his vision he assessed his condition. His head no longer ached, even when he turned it gently on the pillow; he seemed to have some energy, although he suspected that he was still weak from being bed-ridden for so long; and most shockingly yet, his stomach rumbled with an appetite he had long been without.

His vision returned and his confidence boosted by his recovery, Wufei attempted to sit up. His stomach clenched and his arms strained as he pushed himself up with muscles too long neglected.

"Wufei!" His mother, who he hadn't noticed he was awake before then, exclaimed and rushed to his bed.

Wufei pushed his way up to sitting, pleased that he had done it with relatively little exertion. He held up his hand to his mother when she tried to help him and opened his mouth. His heart raced and he took a deep breath. He was going to speak. He had to speak... Now!

He moved his lips...but nothing came out. It was as though something were missing between his brain and his throat, a connection was broken or a link was missing.

"I don't understand..." His mother spoke with puzzled concern. "Your throat is fine. I've checked while you slept. Even the palace doctors checked. You don't cough and your throat isn't sore, is it?" When Wufei shook his head she went on. "Why can't you speak?" She didn't ask him, but posed the question to space, the room, the palace...the deity she kept a small figure of in her room back in the family's little cottage. She asked everyone, anyone who could answer why her son's voice refused to work.

Wufei held his throat as he stared at the covers of his borrowed bed. He wanted to speak...didn't he?

His mother turned from the bed and immediately Wufei felt more than saw her become rigid. He looked over just in time to see her try to block something from his vision. Wufei's brow wrinkled in silent questioning but his mother pretended not to notice.

"Are you hungry?" She asked.

Wufei nodded as his stomach growled at the thought of food.

His mother smiled wearily. "That is good to hear..." she turned and pretended to get something from near a small table Wufei had noticed earlier on in his stay, all the while moving in the same small area as she obviously tried to block something. She bent over and Wufei could hear something rustle. When she turned, Wufei yawned to cover his interest. "I will go fetch something from the kitchens." She announced. Then with one last glance to that spot, she left.

Once she was gone, Wufei waited all of three seconds before he scrambled out of bed. When he stood for the first time in what felt like ages, he was pleased to find that his dizziness was gone, but discouraged by the weakness in his legs. He had to brace himself on the bed for the first few steps, but after that he gained more confidence and was able to get to the table without support.

The table had held something, he was sure, but his mother had hid whatever it was. He frowned and looked around but quickly smiled as he realized that a corner of a honey-colored wooden box stuck out from under the table's brocade cover. Wufei guessed that his mother thought he was too sick to get out of bed. Wufei bent and slid the box out from under the table, picked it up by the brass handles on its sides, and hoisted it onto the table. He was once again pleased at his condition, finding it less a strain than he expected.

_'So all I needed was bed rest? I will never live that down...'_ he thought with bitter amusement.

He looked at the simple but sturdy box with interest, but his curiosity didn't leave much time to inspect the outside of it. He quickly undid the latch, his pulse quickening. He remembered feeling this way as a child when he would sneak a candle from his mother's room to read late into the night—the exhilaration of doing something bad and fear of getting caught. His skin prickled with childish anticipation as the pushed back the lid and his eyes fell on the modest looking contents. A thick black mound of fabric topped unceremoniously by a scrap of ink-dotted paper with scribbled writing. Wufei was disappointed for a few seconds before the note caught his attention, for at the bottom of it was the scribbled name "Heero."

Wufei curiously took the note and read:

Mrs. Chang,  
If Wufei wakes up have her wear this tonight.  
This is extremely important.  
-Heero

Wufei smiled at his brusqueness for a moment before icy fear struck him. Tonight? When was this? Wufei glanced quickly around the room, hoping for some sign or hint at when it was... but even if he knew the date, "tonight" could be any day. Wufei inspected the outside of the box with no luck, and then in a last desperate effort he tore back the mound of black fabric inside it. But it wasn't a mound. The first layer came off easily and Wufei dropped it in surprise.

Hiding beneath was the softest fabric he had ever touched. Wufei pulled it out slowly, the rich fabric unfolding like butterfly wings from the cocoon of its plain wooden box. It was a dress made from an unbelievably plush fabric. Wufei had never seen anything like it before. It felt almost like fur, but much shorter and almost softer. It also looked more..._elegant _than fur. It was a black deeper than any died cotton and more inviting than any silk. It was small on the top, but flowed out impossibly from the waist and the bell-shaped sleeves. Red stitching like curling vines snaked and twisted across the front in an intricate pattern. The dress was of simple design, but it more beautiful than anything he had ever seen before. Wufei touched the fabric in gentle awe. He felt that he was holding something so rare and delicate that it could never have been made on earth.

"Wufei!"

Wufei turned quickly. His heart jolted with fear and he dropped the gown into its box.

His mother stood in the doorway, a small ceramic pot in her hands and anxiety in her eyes. "You found it..."

Wufei's fingers sought out the beautiful fabric once more, afraid it would disappear. _'Did I miss it?'_ he thought, trying with all he had to convey it to his mother.

Mrs. Chang paid no attention. "Put it down and get back into bed. I brought you some broth."

Wufei didn't move but held up the dress to his mother.

Mrs. Chang put the crock of soup on the nightstand beside the bed and went about serving it. "He brought it by while you were sleeping." She said quietly.

Wufei snatched the note and took it to his mother. He pointed out "tonight" on the splotched paper and thrust it in her line of vision, his stomach tightening as he waited for her to say it was days ago, that he slept through Heero's "extremely important" event.

Mrs. Chang was silent for a long while. When she spoke, her lip and voice quivered. "You shouldn't go."

Wufei was so relieved that he found himself smiling. He went quickly to the dress, ignoring the taboo it symbolized and took a moment to enjoy the rich feel against his palms.

"You aren't well." His mother protested, her voice cracking.

Wufei ignored her and let the dress drop. He went to the pitcher and bowl next to the lavatory and began to wash his face and hair.

"Don't you know what this party is about?" His mother whispered to herself, unheard by her son.

'_This is it._' Wufei thought, his whole body tight with nervousness determination. _'I have to tell him tonight.'_

* * *

Heero watched as the sun drifted into the arms of the horizon, beaming a red-orange as it met its lover and settled in for the night. He adjusted his jacket for the ninth time and glanced at the wall mirror for the tenth. He had used that mirror more in the last ten minutes than he had his entire life. Truthfully, he hadn't known it was there until he met Wufei.

There was a sharp rap at the door and Heero jumped. He took a deep breath, glanced at his newfound mirror once more, and steeled himself. This was it.

Quinze waited for him outside his door, looking as stiff and unpleasant as ever. Heero nodded to him coldly and they walked together down the long stone hallways. He listened to the rhythmic tapping of their shoes against the flagstone as he went over how he was going to ask Wufei to be his wife, his Queen. He had tried to ask so many times before, but the question never made it past his fear of her leaving him, and Wufei's sickness just gave him an excuse to delay further. She had to say yes, he could never become king without her there with him. He could never live again without her living with him.

Quinze came to a stop before a pair of intricately carved wooden doors. He looked at Heero, who nodded in return. Two guards stationed at either end pulled the heavy doors open, their bulk being just enough for the job. Beyond the doors, the large ballroom went silent. Every giggling courtier stopped short, every instrument stopped its vibrations, and all eyes turned toward the wooden doors at the top of a golden staircase.

Quinze stepped forward, his face alight with haughty importance. His voice rose to echo across the impossible expanse of the ballroom. "I present his royal highness, Prince Heero." Simple but effective, just as Heero requested. Quinze stepped aside, his waist bent and his eyes downcast in a rare gesture of respect.

Heero stepped forward into the blinding light of the ballroom. The gold railings of the stairs, the massive jeweled chandeliers, the nobles in all their pompous glory, all sparkled and shone with brightness that was usually overwhelming to Heero. But today it was different. Today he would take his place. With the woman he loved at his side he would announce their union. Heero took confident strides down the steps and passed his bowing guests to the dais where his family sat, and Wufei...

Heero's steps faltered as his eyes failed to find Wufei. She should have been standing nearby. He clenched his fists and continued on, his eyes still flicking across the room in search of Wufei. He was still searching when he stepped onto the dais and sat down at his throne beside Hilde. His sister was pale and nervous, though Heero didn't look at her long enough to notice this.

"Heero." Hilde whispered as the music started again and people began dancing. When he didn't answer, she tried again. "Heero!"

"Not now." Heero growled, still fruitlessly searching for Wufei.

"It's important!" Hilde persisted.

"I doubt it. Has Wufei come yet?" He demanded.

"No..." she recoiled at Wufei's name. "Heero I really need to-"

Heero stood quickly and walked off the dais, waving at the musicians to continue when they faltered.

It was possible she was too sick to come, or had yet to wake. If that was the case he should go to her, it could be serious. Deciding on this, he threaded his way through the crowd, trying to get to the door and out to check on Wufei.

He was in the middle of the floor making his way out when suddenly the entire ballroom went silent.

* * *

Wufei stood outside a pair of large red painted doors, waiting for admittance into Heero's party. The guards stationed at the entrance were muttering to each other, but Wufei could clearly hear what was being said.

"She looks suspicious... You ever seen anyone look like that?" As he spoke, the guard looked at Wufei with obvious distrust.

"I'm tellin' ya, it's that girl! The one the prince 'as been seein'." The other guard protested.

"She's supposed to be some tall blonde with big...you know." He cupped his hands in front of his chest. "That's what I heard, anyway."

"Really? I heard a curvy red-head with a..." The guard shook his head sharply. "But no! I mean look at 'er dress! Don't you remember the captain sayin' somethin' 'bout a girl in a _black and red velvet_ dress? You seen one yet?"

The hesitant guard was silent a moment. "Oh yeah..."

"This is why we're still guards instead of soldiers."

"The captain said it was because of my rugged good looks!"

"The captain was being sarcastic you numbskull!"

Wufei listened to this with silent annoyance. _'Numbskull?__ People actually use that word?'_

The guards returned with feigned confidence, unaware that Wufei had heard—or understood—their conversation.

"You can go in." The slightly more intelligent one informed him.

"Uh...the herald is already at the party so we can't introduce you..." the slightly dumber one said. "So uh...just go in."

Wufei swallowed hard to keep from harming the idiot guards and nodded.

They opened the doors to a brilliantly lit room that he only vaguely remembered from his first appearance. With a deep breath, Wufei stepped through the doors.

The room went silent.

Wufei looked around in panic as the band stopped playing and every face turned toward him in silence. Wufei was struck with sudden and almost crippling self-doubt. What were they staring at? Had he come the wrong way? Done the wrong thing? These thoughts multiplied and grew more frantic as the silence stretched on and the blank stares of hundreds of nobles seared his flesh.

Then like a beacon in the field of the hundreds of guests in their fluff and sparkle, out of every silent figure, every intense stare, he found the only one that mattered. The one person he could understand; the one who looked at him with amazement and appreciation, instead of blank silence; the one who saw him and was joyous instead of completely void.

Wufei lifted his chin and walked down the stairs, his dress pulled barely past his mother's best silk shoes. He walked passed all the guests as they stared and whispered. He walked through the crowd as it parted to stare from a distance. He walked until he came to his destination, his One.

Heero's eyes traveled across Wufei's entire body when he stopped in front of him, coming to a stop at his eyes. His lip twitched and he stepped closer. His hand came to a rest at Wufei's hip and he leaned closer. "You are beautiful." He stated. Then Heero closed the remaining inches and gently kissed him.

The crowd around them erupted in hushed speech, everyone whispering and covertly pointing at the couple. The crowd surged and shifted as disbelieving courtiers tried to see what was happening.

For ten blissful seconds, neither Wufei nor Heero noticed or even cared about what was happening around them. It was a perfect moment, but only moment. Heero pulled away with a miniscule smile and Wufei had to get his bearings back.

"I have something to tell you...to do." Heero said, his voice oddly tight. He took Wufei's hand and began to lead him toward the Royalty's dais.

Wufei allowed himself to be taken away a few steps before his resolve kicked in and he stopped walking. When Heero turned to see what the problem was, Wufei gently tugged his arm and tilted his head toward the door. He had a pen and small sheaf of paper hidden in his dress. It was not his first choice for confession but the only one available at the moment.

Heero shook his head. "We have to do this now. We can go right after."

Something about his tone, the nervousness in his posture or the general feel of the crowd around him itched at Wufei's mind. Something was tugging at his sleeve... He shook his head and pulled at Heero's arm, gesturing again toward the door.

Heero pulled Wufei's hand up to brush against his lips. "After, I promise." He didn't wait but began his way back to the dais.

Before Wufei could protest further they were there, standing before the stern and intimidating King Odin and the beaming yet professionally calm Queen Heather. On Heather's left sat an empty throne, and next to that on the smallest throne sat a nervous and oddly silent Hilde.

Wufei bowed his head, hindered slightly by Heero who had his arm held uncomfortably tight.

King Odin stood slowly, his strong frame imposing utter importance and severity. He folded his heavily robed arms across his chest and stared down at them with an intensity that Wufei had only seen before in Heero while they sparred, and only rarely. "Announce to our people who you bring before us." He spoke to Heero but his voice boomed and echoed across the deathly silent ballroom.

Heero did not falter. He stared straight as his father, as proud and unyielding as the man he spoke to. "Wufei of the Chang family." Heero spoke just as loudly and calmly as his father, but neither his voice nor his words held the pretentious embellishment his father's did.

"For what reason do you bring her before us?" Odin asked, his voice a little colder.

Heero hesitated and Wufei could feel him shift nervously beside him. Wufei looked over to his prince, wondering why himself. What was going on?

"To..." Heero began, swallowed hard and continued. "To introduce the new Queen, my wife to be."

Time stopped.

The crowd stayed silent, but the mass shuddered as people glanced at friends and lovers in disbelief. The King and Queen were silent as well. The King was challenging Heero with a heavy stare and the Queen was beaming brighter by the second. Heero was silent, his breath held as he kept his father's gaze with defiance.

And Wufei...

_'Wife?__ Queen?'_ the words repeated themselves over and over in Wufei's head, trying to make sense. He was sure he once knew what they meant, but in that moment he could not process... Wife? Marriage? Was he asking Wufei to be... QUEEN?!

Wufei slowly turned to Heero, his eyes wide in shock. Heero didn't look at him, his eyes still fixed on his father.

King Odin opened his mouth to be the one to break the silence, but he was robbed of that by a desperate cry of "NO!"

Every eye turned to the right end of the dais where Hilde now stood, her chest heaving and her eyes narrowed. "This can't happen!"

Heero glared at his sister. "Hilde, this is not the time."

"Listen to me!" Hilde yelled, her voice cracked and unstable.

"Enough Hilde!" King Odin barked, turning away from his daughter. "I, King Odin VI hereby accept-"

Time stopped once more, heralded by Hilde screaming once more. This pause didn't last, but when it started again it was moving faster than Wufei could follow. Everything seemed to happen in less than a second, and Wufei could only watch as though he was stuck in the pause.

Suddenly Hilde was in front of Wufei with tears in her wild eyes.

There was a flash of silver.

Then a mix of gasps and screams from the crowd behind them.

As the first grains of sand hit the cold stone floor, Wufei's trance was broken. He looked down and watched in horror as his breasts spilled out of his beautiful velvet dress from the gash Hilde cut with a small silver dagger. He was frozen in his terror. He could not move to cover himself or to explain to Heero...all he could do was watch as his lie bled from his heart to fall before his love, his prince, his One.

King Odin was the one to break the silence this time. "What is this?" He bellowed at Heero.

Wufei looked up, his stomach twisting painfully as his eyes met Heero's.

The Prince only stared at him with utter confusion.

"Wufei is a man." Hilde answered her father with a mix of disgust and arrogance. "I tried to tell you before. He's been lying to Heero!"

Wufei's eyes never left Heero's as his love's expression turned from confusion to anger. He turned to his sister, frigid anger pouring from his lips. "This isn't a game Hilde."

Hilde's eyes widened in disbelief. "I'm not playing Heero! Look at him!"

"Hilde...if this is some kind of joke..." King Odin warned.

Hilde looked from her father to her brother. "I'm not..." Her face suddenly sharpened back to her former crazed arrogance. "Why don't you ask him?"

Wufei went cold as Heero turned his gaze back to him, the eyes he once saw as intense but captivating now looked distant and suspicious. "Wufei...? This isn't true..."

Wufei had nothing to say, even if he was able. He could think of no words to express his guilt, his sorrow, or his unwavering love. What could he say? What could he do? He could only stare back and hope something went through.

Heero's face dropped. "...is it?"

Everyone was silent.

Hours seemed to tick by, holding Wufei in a painful suspense.

"Guards!"

Wufei blinked as the word echoed throughout the hall, bellowed by King Odin to shatter that mind-searing silence. Two people tore him away from Heero before he could react, each heavily muscled guard holding one arm. But Wufei didn't react. He didn't struggle, he didn't shout out. He just stood there, his eyes locked on Heero's.

"What were you thinking, boy? This man could be a spy, an assassin!" King Odin raged to his blank and staring son. "Take him away!" He ordered the guards.

As the burly men dragged him back, Wufei snapped to attention. _'NO!'_ He tried to look at Heero, but his prince was turning away... he was turning his back...

The crowd parted before the guards, the nobles swelling back slightly to stare at the man who was almost Queen. They blocked Wufei's view of Heero and finally he started to struggle.

'_No!_' he mentally shouted as he tried stand still against the strength of the guards. _'I won't let this happen!'_

The guards jerked him and they were moving again...

And the nobles parted and surged together with their sharp eyes and disgusted stares, their whispers and pointing fingers.

They were moving him away... Taking him away from...

"HEERO!"

The guards stopped, the courtiers stepped back in shock, the King and Queen looked appalled and Hilde looked proud of herself.

Wufei stood heaving, his arms held painfully back as his voice echoed back to him: loud, rough, and condemningly natural.

The courtiers pulled back from his prince, leaving a long empty path between the two lovers. Heero turned slowly and looked back at Wufei.

In that moment Wufei's life was gone.

There was no hate in Heero's eyes. No hurt, no love, no disgust, no anger...nothing. Heero looked back at Wufei, bound and headed for prison, with no emotion. He felt nothing.

"Take him _away_!" Odin repeated for the last time.

Heero turned away from Wufei for the last time.

When the guards began moving again, Wufei didn't resist.

* * *

Two pairs of eyes stared blankly at Trowa, shocked and lined with tears. Trowa himself felt odd and raw. It shocked him as well. Was it even in his control anymore?

"Wufei..." Quatre choked as his tears collected and fell across his baby soft cheeks. He slumped against Trowa, who numbly placed an arm around him, his eyes fixed on Duo.

Duo stared back, his eyes glittering with gathering tears. "Did ya have ta go and make it so real, Tro'?" he asked with a forced chuckle, but the façade quickly broke and he joined Quatre in Trowa's arms, his shoulders shaking in gentle sobs.

Trowa held them, tearless as always, and looked once more to the door with fruitless hope.

Just as he feared, Wufei sat on the floor just outside. He stared up at the ceiling, his arms resting on pulled up knees and his head against the door as he listened to the quiet sobbing of his friends.

Never before had he felt so alone.

To be continued...

Next Chapter:  
In which dusk has fallen on this twisted fairy tale, and dawn seems impossibly far away.

* * *

Author's Note:  
As you can maybe tell, I sent this without a beta reader. A bunch of things kept this chapter so long in coming, the largest of which was the fact that I started this whole thing just so I could write this chapter. The ballroom scene was the first thing I constructed in my head and the driving force for me to write. So I spent a little extra time on it hehe. I hope I got it right ;; 

Anyway, sorry again for my failings bows thank you for sticking with me and I hope to have the next chapter out before Christmas '05 ;;;

Happy Holidays to those of you that are religious (whichever religion you resonate with) and have a blissfully unstressed week for those of you that aren't


	17. Chapter Seventeen

So I'm not sure if this is the longest it's been between updates but it sure has felt like it! To me anyway...  
If you'll notice I'm bumping the rating up to M to be safe for the next chapter.  
Okay read on! I'll talk to you again when it's over.  
Me

Name, Author, Archive, Feedback, Couples, Disclaimer: That doesn't really matter right now, does it?

Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon A Cross Dresser  
Chapter Seventeen

The morning sky was still dark when he awoke, his neck stiff and throat dry. Still dark save the very edge of the horizon, which glowed a promising pale blue. Duo's window was open a crack, letting through the icy tendrils of early morning wind that woke Wufei from his troubled sleep.

Wufei peeled open his bloodshot eyes and glanced around. He had fallen asleep curled up in the stiff office chair in front of Duo's desk, his limbs folded in awkward ways that he would later pay for. The clock in the corner of the computer screen mockingly informed him that it was 5:27 in the morning. He must have slipped in a little less than three hours of sleep, which was good in comparison to the previous few nights.

A half completed game of solitaire was waiting onscreen where he left it a few hours back, but Wufei had no desire to finish it. Instead he stood and walked to the window to close it. He paused in front of it just as a sliver of light began to crawl out from the horizon. It burned his eyes but he didn't care enough to change his gaze. He watched the sun pull itself onto the edge of the earth until his eyes began to water and he had to turn away. When the sun's image faded from his vision, he found himself once more facing Duo's computer.

He had spent hours in front of that computer, busying himself with hollow activates so as to ignore a scrap of paper on the desk and the quickly scratched number that was burned into his memory. His heart began to beat faster as his eyes fell on it once more, and a now familiar feeling of excited dread settled in his stomach.

How long had he put it off? How long had he known it was going to happen?

His feet began to move and he was sitting in the desk chair before he could think about it. A few clicks on the keyboard and the communication dialog popped up on screen. Wufei took a deep breath and grabbed the cup of tepid water he had left on the desk the other night. His eyes never left the communication dialog as he drained the liquid from it. His throat still felt dry but he couldn't delay any longer. It was past time.

His fingers moved quickly across the keyboard, typing in the numbers he knew too well, and immediately hit "connect," knowing he had them all right. There was a moment of silence as the call went through. He had just enough time to realize that he probably looked like shit, but not enough time to do anything about it. The line beeped and Wufei quickly typed in a four digit code that he hoped was correct.

Then there was silence.

Wufei stopped breathing. Memories flashed through his mind, some he had almost forgotten and some he wished he had.

And then...

"Yuy." The voice on the other line stated.

Wufei froze. What the hell was he supposed to say?

The person on the other end waited a moment. "Hello?"

If Wufei didn't answer, he was going to hang up, so he did what he always did in uncomfortable situations. "I'm disappointed." He said gruffly. "I expected your security to be better."

The visuals on the other end turned on and Wufei was granted with the rare "surprised Heero" face. Of course, most people looking at him would fail to see the slight variations that expressed Heero's emotional spectrum, but Wufei knew Heero better then most people.

"Wufei?" the smallest hint of disbelief tinted Heero's voice.

Wufei threw a hand through his hair and hoped it was all he needed. He hit the V key and a small icon popped up indicating that his visual was on.

The small traces of emotion left Heero's face and after a moment he said simply, "It's been a long time."

Wufei nodded and tried not to imagine anything that wasn't there. "It has."

There was a long silence as Wufei searched for something to say and Heero stared vacantly at the screen. Neither of them was a sparkling conversationalists or even tolerant of small talk, which left Wufei with little to work off of. Instead, Wufei found himself staring back just as blankly.

Heero's hair was shorter than Wufei had last seen it, but he looked otherwise unchanged...the same Heero he had lost sleep over for the past few days.

The silence stretched on until suddenly Wufei realized that he had no idea where Heero was. He could be calling in the middle of the night, for all he knew. "Am I interrupting anything?" he asked.

"No. Why are you calling?" Heero asked bluntly.

Thinking quickly, Wufei smirked and feigned bitterness. "That damned woman forced a vacation on me. I'm at Quat-" he caught himself, "-Winner's house with the others and..." he stopped, still unsure of how to explain exactly why he was calling. He wasn't exactly sure himself. He knew that he had to call, but he didn't want to admit why, even to himself.

"Is it that bad?" Heero asked with no audible sign of humor.

Wufei chuckled but didn't answer. He had looked away from Heero's digitally transferred eyes in that split second and now found it too hard to look back.

"How much longer is your vacation?" Heero asked after a while.

Wufei realized with a slight sinking feeling that it was already his sixth day of freedom/torture. "As long as I want it to be." He answered without looking up.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Heero smile. Or at least perform his version of the smile. "I'm in Europe right now. Relena will be consulting with the dignitaries here for another month."

Wufei nodded and pushed back the mental image of Heero as the fairy tale's prince dealing with dignitaries. He would kill Trowa if he wasn't embarrassed about the story enough as it was.

"What?" Heero asked. Apparently he knew Wufei as well as Wufei knew him and had seen something in that moment's mental lapse.

"Nothing." Wufei said gruffly, inwardly cursing Trowa. "I was thinking of visiting Europe." It was out of his mouth before it fully formed in his mind.

Heero was silent a moment. "She's in Russia right now. I will be here for at least another month." His words were almost hesitant and his voice...

_'I could just be imagining it..._' Wufei thought, trying to smother the ancient emotions that stirred.

"Russia...Moscow?" his voice was casual but his heart was beating quicker despite his best efforts.

Heero nodded.

He spoke his next words carefully, hoping and dreading that Heero would see past them. "Is it very dangerous for her?"

Heero was silent and Wufei could almost feel those cold eyes on his skin. "My people could handle it without me." Heero finally stated without emotion.

The longest silence of the conversation followed that. Wufei was still unable to bring his eyes up to the screen, but that was the smallest of his problems. There were things that needed to be said, but he couldn't bring himself to say them. There were things he wanted, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. Was he too proud? Too afraid? Maybe it could never work. Maybe it was never supposed to...

"Wufei..."

Wufei froze.

"Come to Moscow."

Wufei didn't speak a moment as his mind took forever to process exactly what Heero meant. When it finally sunk in, he smirked despite himself as the princely image returned. After a while he nodded. Maybe they had grown, maybe if they could both let a little go...

"It would be good..." Wufei said in a low voice that he realized with a bit of embarrassment, was his most masculine. "...to see you again."

Heero nodded stiffly, his allocation of tenderness already far surpassed.

"I'll call you when I get there." Wufei said and quickly cut the line.

Wufei turned off the computer and fell onto Duo's bed, uncaring of the various items of clothing and magazines that occupied it as well. With a small smile, Wufei slept better than he had in a very long while.

* * *

Quatre was humming a light tune, beautifully accompanied by the full orchestra of a cooking breakfast. Rice was steaming in the cooker and a pot on the stove was bubbling happily as Quatre's rhythmic cutting sliced green onions to put in the miso soup. The delicate green circlets kissed the water in the pot just as the tea kettle began to sing. 

Trowa watched this domestic ballet from the kitchen doorway with amusement and just a little awe. Only Quatre could make preparing breakfast look so elegant.

Quatre turned the heat off under the tea kettle and in one smooth motion, poured the scalding liquid into a waiting teapot. When all the water was drained he pulled it back and turned. Surprise widened his eyes and embarrassment painted his skin as his eyes fell on the doorway.

"Trowa!" he placed the kettle back on the stove and nervously smoothed the plain white apron at his waist. "How long have you been there?"

Trowa smiled and hummed in his throat, a neutral sound that would tell Quatre nothing. He walked passed Quatre and peered curiously into the pot on the stove.

"What is this?" Trowa asked.

"Miso soup." Quatre answered quietly. He pulled open a cupboard and retrieved a small, shallow bowl. He stirred the soup once, then with the wooden spoon he ladled some onto the dish. He gently blew on the soup and then held it out Trowa.

"Try it. Careful, it's hot." He said with a shy smile.

Trowa took the small dish and tipped it into his mouth. After a moment he smiled down at his blonde companion. "It's delicious Quatre."

Quatre beamed back. "My Japanese language tutor used to bring it with her early in the mornings." He explained as he readied the meal to serve. "She offered me some once and I loved it, so she taught me how to make it. I thought it would be a nice change."

Quatre was ladling out the soup into four bowls when a groggy Duo joined them. He slumped into a chair at the table, folded his arms on the table top and promptly dropped his head into them.

"Morning Duo." Quatre greeted with a cheerful laugh.

Trowa filled a cup with Quatre's tea and sympathetically placed it beside Duo's arms. Duo looked at the cup and wrinkled his nose until Trowa placed the sugar bowl right beside it. Duo grinned and said something that vaguely sounded like: "shanks Tro'."

Quatre paused his ladle above the fourth bowl. "Has anyone seen Wufei?" he asked.

Trowa shook his head.

"He's asleep." Duo with a big yawn.

Quatre frowned. "Still?"

Duo nodded as he sipped his sugar-loaded tea. "I went in there to get some pants." There was a definite grin behind his tea cup. "He looked pretty dead too, he barely moved when I tried to get my pants from under him."

Trowa quirked an eyebrow. "Why was he asleep on your pants?"

"Because he's madly in love with me." Duo said with another large yawn.

Trowa chuckled.

"Well, that and my pants were in their rightful place: under my pillow." Duo finished with another grin.

Quatre put the fourth bowl down and covered the soup. "He can serve himself when he gets up then, no use letting it get cold..."

As he placed the other bowls on the table and packed a second set of bowls with rice, a small smile began to form on his angelic face. "Um, Trowa? Since Wufei isn't here..."

"Kitchen sex!" Duo shouted immediately, causing Trowa to almost shoot miso out his nose.

"Not that!" Quatre shouted over Trowa's coughing. He rushed over to pat Trowa on the back. "I was talking about Cross Dresser."

"Oh... yeah, I guess that's cool too." Duo nodded. "Er...you okay Tro'?"

* * *

The stone walls of the palace dungeon emitted a cold that seeped past your flesh and into your heart, chilling you far beyond the comfort of cloth. The visitor shuddered behind their escort, a brawny man that looked less then pleased to be there. He carried a foul smelling torch that shed light a mere foot in front of them; all else was pitch black. The sounds of rustling chains bounced off the walls, making it hard to decipher where they came from. The dungeon's visitor vaguely wondered if those sounds lived there with the prisoners, bodiless memories of convicts that had long since wasted away. 

The torch came to a stop and the guard moved aside.

There, in the oppressive darkness held back only by the guard's torch, lay the prisoner. His black velvet dress had been stripped away and replaced by the roughly sewn pants of a criminal. His once beautiful, shining black hair was covered with the dust that lay on his cell floor. Slowly, his eyes lifted to his visitor.

"What are you doing here?" his voice was rough, deep, and filled with disgust.

Hilde was unsure of what her reaction would be when she saw Wufei, but she had not been prepared...

Tears welled up in the young girls eyes.

"Wufei..." she spoke softly, his name bubbling up behind her tears.

Hilde fell to her knees on the dirty stone floor and curled her hands around the cold iron bars that held Wufei. The rough metal cut at her hands but she didn't flinch, instead she held them tighter, hoping that pain would help ease the pain in her heart.

"Please forgive me." She pleaded.

Wufei stared at her without even a ripple of emotion.

Her tears came faster and she pressed her forehead against the bars until they cut her skin there as well. "I didn't think." She sobbed. "I didn't know that this could happen... I just... I didn't mean to..." she couldn't speak beyond her tears and so she gave up.

The guard stood impassive through Hilde's display until he noticed a small stream of blood that began to trickle down the bar from her hand. "Princess Hilde, stop!" He shouted and rushed over to her. "You're hurting yourself!" He kneeled beside her and tried to pull her away from the cell.

"Leave me alone!" She screamed at him, her hands tightening around the bars.

The guard let her go immediately but didn't move away, obviously unsure of what was going on and what he was supposed to do about it.

"Leave us." Hilde ordered in a low and deathly serious voice. "I want to speak to him alone."

The guard hesitated, throwing a suspicious look at Wufei and muttering something to Hilde under his breath.

"Leave me." Hilde nearly shouted.

The guard nodded quickly, and then with a last glance at Wufei, he all but ran to the exit.

When the guard's hurried footsteps faded away, Hilde lifted her eyes once more to the bare and fallen boy that had once been Wufei. "I don't know how to explain myself." She said slowly. "When I found out about you I was just so...torn. I was just...just trying to protect Heero but...I've just made everything so much worse." She stumbled through the words, trying to somehow justify her actions not only to Wufei, but to herself as well. "I don't know how to say how sorry I am..." her tears came once more and slurred her speech. "I can't get you out of here, but if there's anything else you want from me...I'll do anything! Everything I can..."

Wufei watched her in silence for a long while. When he spoke next, he did so in a voice that didn't seem to come from him, but from somewhere inconceivably far off. "How is my family?"

Hilde took a few calming breaths. When she could speak clearly, she said, "They kept them in your rooms for a little while, but they eventually let them go home under guard. I don't think they will be harmed, since you said that..." Hilde stopped.

"I took responsibility for my actions." Wufei said. "I did everything on my own."

Hilde could only nod.

"How is...your brother?" his voice wavered only slightly at the mention of Heero.

Hilde shook her head. "I have no idea... He keeps himself locked in his room and doesn't talk to anyone. My mother had to order food to be delivered to him, since he wouldn't come to eat..." Hilde took her hands from the bars and placed them in her lap. They were raw and bleeding but she could no longer feel their pain. "I tried to talk to him once but..." her voice cracked. "He wouldn't answer the door, he would only tell me to leave... But his voice...it was so empty. I didn't think he could get any colder than before..." Hilde seemed to catch herself. "Than before you came." She mumbled quietly to herself.

They went silent.

In the distance Hilde could hear those rustling chains. The cells around Wufei's were empty, but she knew there were some farther on that were occupied by long term prisoners, people that had done so much wrong that they would endure a lifetime of captivity for it.

Hilde was unsure of how much time passed in silence, but if it were her choice, she would have gladly lived her life in silence rather than hear the next words spoken.

"What will they do with me?" Wufei asked in the same distant voice.

Hilde dropped her head and her bloody palms began to fill with hot tears. "Don't ask me that..."

"I have a right to know." Wufei stated.

"I can't..."

"Hilde." Wufei's voice was firm.

Hilde's answer was slow and hitched, but the message was clear to Wufei's ears.

"Execution." Wufei repeated without emotion.

Hilde nodded.

* * *

Trowa picked up his teacup to drink from but realized it had gone cold. He put it down and looked thoughtfully at Quatre and Duo, who were hunched together and staring at him expectantly. 

"I wonder why Wufei isn't up yet?" Trowa commented, looking up at the clock. "It's already--"

"Trowa!" Duo and Quatre whined in unison.

Trowa chuckled. "Alright, alright..."

* * *

Wufei moved for the first time since looking up at Hilde's arrival. He crossed his arms over his bare chest and closed his eyes. Tense minutes passed with Hilde watching him, her breath held captive in her throat. Eventually his eyes slid open.

"I understand." Wufei said calmly.

Hilde stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

Wufei bowed his head. "I understand."

Hilde stood up, her dirtied skirts swirling around her as her temper flared for the first time since the night of Heero's party. "You understand? What do you mean you '_understand_'! They're going to kill you Wufei! For what? Tell me! How did it all come to this! What in the hell is going on!"

Wufei watched her silently until her angered breaths slowed and her muscles relaxed. "I will tell you everything that happened, as it happened," Wufei spoke once more in that far off voice, "if you will listen calmly and without interrupting."

After a moment Hilde nodded. She sat down again and listened as Wufei told her everything; from his parent's immigration to Meiran's illness; from the formation of the plan, to Hilde's birthday party; from his days sparring with Heero, to their nights spent in comfortable silence. All he changed was his parent's involvement. He told her the same thing he told his captors: he had done everything on his own, only telling his parents when he had no other choice.

"I accept my punishment." Wufei said once the story had come to an end. "I have failed my sister, my parents, and now I have failed...Heero." he had not used the name throughout the story, and now it hesitated on his lips. "I deserve this."

Hilde looked at the broken boy held captive behind those rough iron bars. He was no longer the girl that was stealing her brother, or the boy that was lying to Heero either, he was Wufei. And under no circumstances...

"You do not _deserve_ this!" Hilde hissed. "What is wrong with you? How can you just let them..." she couldn't force the word past her throat.

"Did you see the way he looked at me?" Wufei's voice was different now, his distance was gone. "I am not what he fell in love with." His voice was filled self inflicting venom and his head was bowed in shame. "As far as he is concerned, the woman he loved is dead. And if his wish is my death as well...then I have died along with her."

And finally, Hilde understood.

"You actually love him, don't you?" She asked, her heart twisting in guilt. "This wasn't at all a play for power or money...You actually love him, don't you?"

Wufei didn't answer, but he didn't need to.

* * *

"Well I'm glad I didn't call Hilde to cuss her out like I was planning." Duo said with a forced chuckle. 

Quatre tried to laugh but his eyes were still glistening with tears.

Trowa stood up and walked over to the side of the table where the other two were sitting. "Let's relocate to the couch." He held out a hand to each of the boys.

They clung to him all the way to the living room and only cuddled closer once they got to the couch.

* * *

Hilde ran. 

Past a befuddled guard, up the dungeon's stone stairs, through the palace's winding hallways, past countless frightened servants and directly...

...into Dorothy.

Neither had been paying attention, so both fell in a heap and swirl of skirts and dust. Hilde was the first to scramble up.

"I'm sorry but I have to get...Dorothy?" Hilde's eyes widened in recognition. "Oh I'm sorry! I didn't even see you! Here..." she held out a hand to her fallen friend.

Dorothy swept the hair from out of her eyes. "It is fine, your highness, I just wasn't—oh my god!" Dorothy's hand went to her mouth as her eyes fell on Hilde's bloody hand. "What happened!"

Hilde laughed nervously and hid the offending hand behind her back. "Oh, that's nothing...just a flesh wound..."

Dorothy stood quickly and forced the hand from behind Hilde's back. "Oh Hilde..." Her voice was soft, as were her hands as she gently inspected the wound. "You have to clean this."

Hilde pouted, not even noticing Dorothy's sudden change in formality. "I can't! I have to get--"

Dorothy's eyes widened once more as she noticed the cuts on Hilde's forehead. "Here too?" she reached up and gently touched the skin around the cuts there. Her eyes firmed. "I'm not letting you go a step further until you clean up."

Hilde shook her head frantically. "I can't Dorothy, I have to-"

"The wounds will get worse if you don't-"

"I don't have time!" Hilde protested.

"Why won't you let me care for you?" Dorothy cried out.

Hilde starred at Dorothy as the girl covered her mouth, both of them in shock. Hilde knew her sudden outburst meant more than treating her wounds and Dorothy was horrified that she had let it slip so bluntly. It had already become obvious to even Hilde, but she couldn't ignore it anymore.

"I can't Dorothy." Hilde said regretfully.

"Why not?" Dorothy asked, her voice heavy with defeat.

"I don't know." Hilde's words were dry and raspy with overused sorrow. "I'm so sorry..."

Her feet moved before she could think and she tore away from her shattered friendship. The sound of her swiftly falling footsteps drowned out the soft sobbing of her best friend and the muted rustle of her skirts as Dorothy retreated to her room.

* * *

"Damn it Trowa!" Duo shouted, wiping his eyes. 

Trowa frowned. "I'm sorry...do you want me to stop?"

"NO!" Duo and Quatre shouted at once.

* * *

Hilde pounded on Heero's door. Tears were once again falling from her eyes. She had cried so much that day that she was surprised she had any liquid left in her body. They still fell no matter what she did, so she just accepted them. 

"Open the door Heero!" she shouted as she pounded against it. "Open the goddamn door!"

The door slowly gave way beneath her hands. Heero stared blankly at her from the other end as he pulled it open.

"What?" he asked, his voice completely missing the annoyed tone he usually spoke to her with. His voice was missing any trace of emotion, in fact.

Hilde angrily wiped away her tears. She had so many emotions swirling in her and for once, no words to convey them. When she didn't immediately answer, Heero started to close the door.

"Tell them to let him go!" She shouted, throwing her arm against the door before it closed.

Heero's hand tightened on the door for a moment, and then he let go and walked back into his room.

Hilde followed him. She glanced around the room and a feeling of unease crept across her skin. The room was almost completely dark, the only light sources were the very edges of Heero's windows that his heavy curtains could not reach, and the faint light from the hallway.

'_All those hours in here, in this darkness..._' Hilde thought as she stared blindly at the dark form she assumed was her brother. She looked back at the door and felt an odd comfort that it was still open.

Hilde turned back to the darkness, and spoke softer this time. "You have to order them to release Wufei."

There was a long silence, and for a moment Hilde feared Heero had somehow escaped.

"Why?" Heero finally asked.

"He doesn't belong in there! He doesn't deserve to..." Hilde still couldn't get that word past the lump in her throat. She took a couple of deep breaths. "I tried to free him myself but it's a direct order from father, they won't listen to me."

Heero didn't answer.

Hilde's anger flared. "This isn't the time to be stubborn! This is his _life_ for Christ's sake, Heero! You can hate him all you want but that doesn't mean he has to..." Hilde's lip quivered and her throat was on fire from all her tears. "...You can believe what you want, but the truth is that he loves you. And he's going to...to _die_ because of it." Hilde was finally able to force the word through. She swiped angrily at her tears as she waited in silence.

Heero's silhouette shifted. "She..." his voice sounded different, but Hilde couldn't tell anything from it. "They're going to execute...him?"

Hilde's eyes narrowed in confused suspicion. "You weren't the one who ordered that?"

Heero didn't answer.

Hilde felt the beginnings of relief. "Then you see how stupid all this is! I'm sure the guards would have to listen to you if you order Wufei's release." Hilde was actually smiling in relief. "You could stop all this barbaric--"

"I'm not stopping it." Heero's voice struck out from the darkness.

Hilde's steady stream of relieved blabbering stopped dead. "What?"

"Why would I care if he lives or dies?" Heero's voice was empty once more.

Hilde stared dumbfound into the darkness, her mind slowly processing what Heero said.

_"As far as he is concerned, the woman he loved is dead." _Wufei's words echoed in Hilde's shell-shocked mind.

"Because it's unnecessary." Hilde said slowly. "Because he doesn't deserve it. Because I know you two really loved each other, even if--"

"Leave."

Hilde's words froze at the icy _violence_ in Heero's voice. "But you did." She whispered.

"Get out."

"Heero please, you can't let them kill him!"

The dark figure moved quickly. Heero was so suddenly in front of Hilde that she squeaked in fearful surprise. Glowing slightly from the open door's light, Heero's hand lifted, poised to strike her with the back. His impossibly cold eyes glared down at Hilde who was frozen with fear.

Heero's fingers curled into a fist that shook with the intensity of his anger. He stared at her, vulnerable and terrified...

Then he seemed to shift, to change in the slightest way. He dropped his fist and pushed her away with his other hand. Hilde stumbled back through the doorway and would have fallen if the hallway wall hadn't been there to catch her.

Heero's door slammed, waking her from her fear induced trance. She ran up to the door and pounded on it.

"Heero!" she shouted at the impassive wooden door.

"Damn it Heero!" her eyes stung but she had used all her tears. "This is insane!"

Her knees gave and she sunk to the floor but still she pounded, albeit weakly, on the door. "He still loves you damn it! His blood's on your hands!"

Then in a whisper she added, "And mine..."

* * *

A thick fog of depression settled over the household and remained there for the rest of the day and into to the next, as that was when Wufei would leave them. 

To be concluded...

Next Chapter:  
In which the day of Wufei's execution arrives.

It's me again! So I'm sorry for the mistakes (as I'm sure there were at least some) once again I am without a beta reader. I've looked it over myself so many times that I can't bear to read it again. I hope it wasn't too bad!  
I'm thinking about doing a sort of FAQ or something at the end of the story, if there are a lot of questions afterward. Yes! The next chapter is the last (tear) so keep some questions in mind! If they aren't answered in the last chapter I will try and answer them later.  
I guess that's it... I'm sorry this took so long! I love you all!


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Name, Author, Archive, Feedback, Couples, Disclaimer: That doesn't really matter right now, does it?

**Story Time With Trowa or Once Upon A Cross Dresser  
Chapter Eighteen**

Saturday morning Duo, Quatre, Trowa and Wufei stood outside the boys' home. They gathered next to Wufe's car, looking and feeling like the mourning family at a funeral.

Quatre clutched Trowa's arm with misty eyes, while Trowa himself struggled to look neutral. Duo had a nervous quickness about him, and he had yet to make eye contact with anyone. Even Wufei looked somber as he shoved his bags into the trunk of his rented car.

"You don't have to leave so soon." Quatre blurted out, then caught himself. "I'm sure they would give you more time, if you asked." He finished timidly.

Wufei closed the trunk. He kept his hands on the trunk a moment as though he expected it to pop open again. "My shuttle leaves in a few hours..." he spoke to the trunk in answer to Quatre. "Besides, I have some things to take care of." Only then did he let go of the car and turn to face his friends.

Quatre let go of Trowa for the first time in more than an hour. He hesitantly shuffled the few steps to Wufei, and then quickly lost any composure he had retained. Wufei wasn't at all surprised when the blonde fell against his chest and wrapped his arms around his neck in a teary hug. Wufei didn't resist the small smile it brought to his lips, and he even gave Quatre an affectionate pat on the back.

"Don't go that long with out visiting again." Quatre ordered. As he pulled away he wore a stern glare, but it was completely negated by the fact that his arms still hung from Wufei's shoulders. When Wufei nodded, Quatre finally let him go.

Duo took Quatre's place as soon the blonde made his teary retreat. "Heh, I finally get my room back." he joked feebly, and followed it up with an even weaker laugh.

Wufei swallowed a good portion of his pride and pulled Duo into a stiff hug. Wufei could feel Duo's chest convulse in a silent sobs as he held him.

It was a few moments before Duo was calm enough to speak. "Ditto on what Quatre said, don't wait to visit us," his voice thick in Wufei's ear, "I get to missin' ya man." Duo pulled quickly away—ducking his head and turning to hide his face. He shot a shaky wave over his shoulder as he made his way to the front door where a sniffling Quatre was waiting.

Trowa was the last to step up and the most composed of the three. He smiled softly and held out his hand. "I'm glad you decided to spend the week."

Wufei nodded and gripped Trowa's hand. "We should, all of us, get together sometime." He said.

"A fuckin' handshake? Damn you macho bastards!" Duo yelled from the doorway.

Trowa chuckled and Wufei smiled tensely. Trowa pulled their arms together and patted Wufei's back in the awkward "I'm not really hugging you" man-hug. When Trowa started to pull away, Wufei didn't move.

"I have a request." Wufei spoke quietly so only Trowa could hear. "I will forgive you for the story, as long as you leave me with _some_ dignity."

Wufei pulled away and stepped back with his gaze fixed over Trowa's shoulder. He lifted a hand to the boys in the doorway as he stepped backward toward the car. The second before he turned to get in, he looked back at Trowa with a firm, warning stare.

Trowa could only manage a nod.

Wufei was starting his car when Trowa felt Duo and Quatre walk up behind him and together they watched him drive away. They stood watching long after Wufei's car had disappeared.

"Now what?" Quatre said softly when his tears were finally dry.

"Go inside and start a pot of coffee." Trowa said with his eyes still on the road. "I suddenly have the desire to finish the story."

While Quatre made coffee, Duo and Trowa gathered every pillow and cushion in the house. They moved the living room furniture into a tight L shape and arranged the cushions to form one large half couch, half bed. Quatre came in with a tray of coffee just as Duo was coming back with his arms full of blankets.

"How long do you think it will take?" Quatre asked, passing Trowa his mug.

"I don't know," Trowa said honestly. "But I'm going to finish it or fall asleep trying."

"I'm not complaining." Duo said. He dropped the blankets at their feet for later and plopped down beside Trowa. He helped himself to a mug of coffee as Quatre got comfortable on Trowa's other side.

"We don't have work until Monday, so I guess it makes sense to finish it now." Quatre added practically.

Duo made a "yeah whatever" noise that made Trowa chuckle.

"Alright," Trowa said softly. "This is it." He looked to his lovers at his sides with a sad smile. "I almost don't want to finish. So much has happened because of it."

Duo grinned. "Well you could always start another--"

"No." Trowa interrupted.

Duo laughed. "Alright alright..."

"It is a little sad though," Quatre agreed. "I'm going to miss this."

Trowa nodded and took a sip of his coffee.

"Sad as it is, I still want to know what's gonna happen. On with it!" Duo prodded.

Trowa put down his mug and took a moment to reflect before plunging into the final telling of his odd little fairy tale.

* * *

The darkness was complete—not even a sliver of light seeped into the room. If there was anything in that darkness, he couldn't see it. In such total and constant darkness there was no morning or night; the only thing that marked the passage of time was the servant woman who brought a new plate of food every six or so hours in exchanged for the untouched platter of the previous meal. 

He could not tell when he was awake from when he was asleep; he had simply stopped noticing the passage from one into the other. Did he dream the food placed beside the door? Did he imagine the hours pass? Had this all been a horrible nightmare? Had he fallen asleep before his birthday party and dreamt that horrible revelation?

That night played out repeatedly in his dreams, however, along with Wufei's approaching execution. In one dream, Hilde's blade slashed through Wufei's chest as it did in reality, except that blood spilled out in the place of sand and Wufei fell to the floor to die at his feet. In another dream, he was standing by watching as Wufei was executed. And in yet another, he held the axe.

His mind ran these images through dreams and thoughts, echoing in his empty stomach and even emptier soul.

Did these things have any effect on him? He could not tell... He could feel nothing as he watched Wufei's phantom die. Nor could he feel anything when he watched the better dreams, where Wufei was proven to be female and they grew old as King and Queen. He could not feel anything.

That thought echoed in the back of his skull for a few dreams, itching at his mind.

Cannot feel...

No feeling...

Numb...

Then for the first time in thousands of dreams, Heero awoke. At least he suddenly developed a sense of the difference. He was awake.

He slid out from his bed and moved in to the complete and utter darkness. He had lived in that room since early childhood; someone could spin him around ten times and he would still be able to walk around in the dark without bumping into anything. He easily found his desk, and from there he found the window. Somewhere in his insanity he had pasted parchment over his windows, effectively cutting out the straggling light that made parts of the room visible. After Hilde's visit he found that locking his room wasn't enough to keep people out. That impossible darkness made people nervous though. Even the servant woman wouldn't enter to leave food, she left it as close to the door as possible.

Heero lifted a hand to his dark curtains and yanked them back. Already the room grew lighter. The parchment was lit a bright yellow as it tried to block the blazing sun. Heero's eyes already burned from that small change in light, but he felt for a crease in the paper and pulled. The paper came away in shreds, stabbing odd shapes of searing light into the thick darkness. They left shards of color in Heero's vision but he tore on until a large space was mostly empty.

He blinked rapidly but it took several minutes before his vision cleared enough to see anything. His room stretched high up from the ground. As a child he liked to climb anything he could, so he had asked for the highest room his mother would give him. It was an odd memory that returned to him as he looked down on the castle grounds to see hundreds of colored dots gathering below.

A numb curiosity drew him toward those dots, but he couldn't see them through the dirty glass in his window. He undid the heavy bolt and pushed against the window. It hadn't been opened in years and protested being used again, but with a few hard shoves it swung open with a creak.

* * *

"Did they have windows like that back then?" Quatre queried. 

Duo looked at him oddly. "Back when?"

Quatre blinked. "Um...when the story was."

Duo laughed. "It's a fairy tale Quatre, I don't think it needs to be historically accurate."

"You were the one who was complaining about realism in fair tales, if you remember." Quatre said defensively.

"Do you want me to go look up the architecture of castles throughout history?" Trowa asked with as little teasing as he could manage.

Quatre pouted. "I was just wondering."

Trowa smiled slightly and put a hand around Quatre. "I'm sorry, I should have done more research on these things."

Duo stretched out over Trowa's legs. "That'd take to long. You can give Wufei a gun and have a getaway scene with mobile suits for all I care, just get on with it."

Quatre laughed. "Agreed."

* * *

Heero stared down at the dots for a few minutes as the hot sun burned his pale skin and weakened eyes. His vision slowly focused and he realized that the dots he had seen were people. They were gravitating toward a larger dark spot on the grounds where, slowly, Heero's eyes came to rest. The dark spot seemed to be some a kind of stage. The dot-people's voices drifted up—a low, indistinct buzz in Heero's ears. They seemed to be waiting for something, but what? 

_"...You can believe what you want," _Hilde's voice rang in his memory. _"but the truth is that he loves you. And he's going to..._die_ because of it."_

Wufei...

_"I know you two really loved each other."_

Heero's fingers curled around the windows edge and he stared down at the crowd of villagers waiting to watch Wufei's execution.

_"He still loves you damnit! His blood's on your hands!"_

Heero's whole body convulsed painfully as he felt all at once that he was going to yell, cry and vomit. So real could he feel the wooden handle of that heavy axe in his hands, see Wufei's inky black eyes staring at him with such hurt and betrayal, hear the axe fall and connect. Heero's body convulsed again and he leaned heavily against the window sill, his eyes still fixed in horror at the crowd below.

The crowd suddenly surged. Everyone turned their backs to the stage and a sudden excited roar erupted from the people.

Heero felt as though he suddenly fell through the ice layer of a lake in winter. Everything suddenly became very sharp and very clear. His every cell was alive and every thought he once had was replaced by one simple and urgent demand: _Stop them_.

Heero's legs moved on their own with no help from his mind but for that one driving goal. He ran through the palace halls faster than he had ever run before; as though it were he that death was chasing, not Wufei. The halls and doorways flashed by without notice. The people he passed may or may not have tried to stop him but he lacked the ability to notice.

What if he was too late? What if he got their just in time to see the axe fall?

When he stumbled out of the castle doorway and onto the grounds, the sight of the crowd in the distance fueled his already aching limbs. He bounded blindly across the last yards, not stopping even when he ran into people.

Suddenly one of those people grabbed Heero from behind, stopping him just short of the crowd. "Your Highness!" The man shouted as his hand closed around Heero's arm.

Heero didn't even turn to look at his captor. He tried to jerk his arm away but the man's grip only grew tighter. "Let me go!" Heero shouted and turned sharply to glare at the man.

"It isn't safe to be out here!" The man had to shout above the din of the crowd.

"I don't care!" Heero shouted back, more in anger than in effort to be heard. "I have to stop them!"

The man wasn't listening. He began to pull Heero toward the castle. "I'm sorry if I'm hurting you Your Highness, but it's for your own good. We have to guard you until they catch the prisoner!"

Heero's heart stopped. "What!" he shouted, pulling heavily on the man's arm.

The guard finally stopped walking and turned around to glare at Heero as though he were lecturing a stubborn child. "Prisoner Chang escaped when they were brining him out for execution!" The guard shouted above what Heero now noticed to be an angry crowd. "We need to make sure he doesn't try to get revenge! Now if you—"

"Forgive me!" Heero shouted over his next words.

The guard had only a second to look confused before Heero's swift and accurate kick met his groin. His eyes bulged and a sort of odd squeak escaped his throat before he fell to his knees.

"Oh Jesus!" Duo shifted uncomfortably. "Not cool."

Trowa even looked a little pained thinking about it.

Heero hesitated in a rare moment of guilt and sympathy. Had he felt that he was strong enough to do anything else he would not have lowered himself by doing something so cowardly and blasphemous to his gender. That moment's sympathy was all he had time for, however, so after that quarter of a breath he was moving again. He ran from that bloodthirsty mob and his unsettlingly dark room.

His body knew where to go, even if his mind hadn't yet formed the idea.

Just in front of the Palace were the gates. It was usually heavily guarded but the defenses had been doubled due to the escape. Heero slowed to a walk. As he approached, the guards noticed him but didn't move from their stations. When he was within speaking distance they called out to him, but moments earlier Heero had caught the sight of something: Several yards from the gate, the forest started. Through the middle of it a road was cut which led to the villages. On the right of that road, at the edge of the forest, there was a spot in the vegetation where the foliage was thinner. It was faint, but it was still a visible path.

"Your Highness?" was all the guards could get out before Heero was off again, through the trees before they could even think to follow.

He ran at first, but after falling twice and nearly loosing the path, he decided to slow down. It was then that he realized how little energy he had left, and he vaguely wondered when he had eaten last.

The forest seemed to go on and on, and he wondered more then once if he was only imagining the path. Why was he looking anyway? Everything had happened so fast that he wasn't even sure what he was doing anymore...

The trees began to thin then, and the sunlight began to grow brighter...then the trees disappeared altogether.

It was the same meadow Heero had found Wufei in, the night he learned Wufei's sister passed away. Then it had been dark and the only thing Heero was paying attention to was his worry about Wufei. Now he was caught in the surreal and captivating calm that radiated from it in the daylight. The midday sun beamed unhindered on the clear meadow, making the plush grass glow an unearthly green. The whole meadow was filled with the sweet smell of nature that reminded Heero of the first day he had met Wufei; it was the same fresh smell that had brought his attention to Wufei in the beginning.

And in the heart of this fantastically glowing dream was Wufei.

He was kneeling in the middle of the meadow, his back to Heero. The sun shone on his bare back, making his skin glow an ethereal golden brown. His hair spilled over his shoulders, the darkest black except for where the sun touched and made it shine brighter than anything else in sight. Like the rest of the sun charged meadow, he looked like an over-exposed dream or a cruel illusion. He knelt still as a stone, glowing bright as a gem.

Heero stepped closer without thinking.

Apparently he had made some sound because the golden figure in the center of the meadow spun around, tense and ready to fight. Then his eyes focused, and a deep sadness relaxed his muscles. He turned back slowly, bowed, and then stood up.

Heero watched silently as the man stood and turned toward him. His whole body was toned in the tightly packed muscle of a martial artist: strong but flexible. A man stood before Heero, staring at him through the face of the woman he had once loved. His eyes traced that familiar face for a pained moment, before traveling down over the flat and muscular chest, then down to the thin and roughly sewn prisoner's pants. Finally, slowly, his eyes drifted to the man's right hand, which held a small, ornately decorated dagger.

The familiar stranger looked to where Heero's eyes landed and he shook his head. "This isn't for defense." He said. His voice was low and masculine, but there was the echo of a familiar voice within it. The man thought for a moment and said, "In fact." He shifted his hold on the dagger, then threw it hilt first toward Heero.

Heero looked down as the beautifully crafted weapon slid through the grass to stop a few inches from his shoe. He bent and picked it up. He could hardly feel it in his hand.

"I wanted to say good bye to her first." The man said, moving aside and looking down at something on the ground.

Heero followed his gaze to a large stone sitting in the middle of the meadow. Perched on top was a small golden hair comb with three green gems that glittered in the sunlight. Another reminder of their first meeting, as she—_he_—had been wearing it the day they met.

"I couldn't die without giving her that," he said, speaking of the comb, "it belongs with her. It's too dangerous to visit her real grave, so this is all I can do."

Heero wasn't listening. He looked down at the blade in his hand, then to the man standing in front of him. The man with the same name as the woman he had loved.

He was looking back at Heero now, with that same sad look as when Heero first entered the meadow. "I was going to do it myself but I see now that, rightfully, it should be you."

Heero looked at the blade again, his whole being was numb and slow.

"I understand, Heero."

That name...he said it the same. That voice was so different, yet so familiar. This person who was and who was not Wufei...

Heero's hand tightened around the dagger's handle as he felt a thousand of them tear at his heart. "You lied to me." His voice seeped in his pain and anger—the first words he had spoken to Wufei since he had been forced into the truth.

"I did." Wufei said with honest regret.

"I believed..." Heero struggled but it was impossible to place all he felt into words. "You made me think..."

Wufei hung his head. What could he say? What could he _possibly_ say?

Heero looked down one last time to the dagger in his hand. "You want me to kill you?" he asked, his voice rough with raw emotion.

Wufei nodded solemnly. "That is all I can offer you. With my death you will have had your revenge. Your subjects will forget what happened, you can marry some woman and become king and forget what I did to you. With my death I hope to repay some of the hurt I have caused you."

Heero looked up at Wufei standing there with solemn acceptance, and he began to laugh. It was a wild, cold and bitter laugh that made Wufei flinch and turn away.

"You think that killing you is going to fix me!" Heero shouted. "You think that's going to erase all these memories I have of you? I'm going to forget that when I look at you now, part of me hates you while another part still sees you as the person I fell in love with?" Heero turned sharply and drove the dagger into a nearby tree.

He watched for a moment as sap oozed from the wound in the tree before turning to face the man named Wufei. _'They are the same person...' _he forced himself to think. The way he acts and thinks...the way he talks, if not his actual voice.

"God damn it!" Heero shouted. He sat down sharply and knotted his fingers in his hair, pressing his palms against his temples as though it would somehow help.

Wufei slowly walked toward him and sat down a few feet away. Heero could sense his eyes on him, but couldn't bring himself to look up.

"How much was a lie?" Heero said after a long silence.

"My voice and my gender, that's all." Wufei answered.

"Liar." Heero snapped. "Why did you do it? Why did it go so far? There has to have been some reason!"

Wufei took a deep breath. "It started because my sister was sick, and we didn't have the money to help her."

Heero thought back to the dagger in the tree and wondered briefly if thrusting it into his chest would relieve some of the pain.

"It wasn't even supposed to involve you." Wufei went on.

"And when it did? When we became friends? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid you'd kill me or my family. I thought you would eventually get tired of me and I could disappear without you ever knowing."

"And when I didn't get tired of you? When we... How could you have let me...?" Heero felt sick at those memories, knowing that they were all a deception.

"I..." it was the first time that Wufei had stopped in an answer, the first time he had hesitated. "I don't know." He said finally. "I wasn't thinking ahead. I wasn't thinking about what it would turn into or what was going to happen in the future... I just wanted to enjoy it for a little while."

"Then all the times we were together...?" Heero asked roughly.

"My voice and my gender were the only things that weren't true." Wufei's voice was thick. "I am sorry that I failed you."

_"...You can believe what you want, but the truth is that he loves you." _Hilde's words echoed in Heero's mind.

Heero looked up to see Wufei was watching him with heavy guilt. Past that, Heero saw the girl he had fallen in love with, except that nothing seemed different; he had put on a dress and changed his voice, but nowhere in their conversation had Wufei been anyone other than the person Heero knew. The angry glare and biting wit was gone, but he had seen Wufei without those guards already. Would he really have loved a girl for her voice and body alone? Was all this just anger because Wufei had lied to him?

A heavy breath left Heero's longs, partially a sigh and partially a shout. Heero leaned back sharply against the tree behind him, knocking his head against in an effort to relieve some of the pressure. He sat there for a long while with his eyes closed and his teeth clenched. Then he finally spoke.

"I don't know what I feel anymore." He said roughly. "But you can't die until I figure it out...so you're coming back with me."

* * *

Trowa paused a moment. 

_'But how will I get them back...?'_ he thought. Then a sudden smile twitched at his lips. _'Well, I gave Wufei his honor...'_

_

* * *

_

"I thought I was finally done with this." Wufei grumbled.

"Stop whining and keep still, or your eyeliner will smear." Sally reprimanded.

"Yes, that would be embarrassing." Wufei mumbled with rusty sarcasm.

They sat together in Sally's attic, Sally bent awkwardly close to Wufei as she applied a strange array of cosmetics to his face. All around them were dusty remnants of past works: baskets and chests filled with strange devices and props, racks and shelves of old and half finished items, masks and old theater posters hung on every wall. It was dry and stuffy in the summer heat, but it couldn't be helped; if anyone saw Wufei's transformation, he was as good as dead.

When Sally pulled the brush from his eye, Wufei spoke again. "When I asked you to make a disguise, I didn't mean this."

Sally made a sort of frustrated growl and dabbed his eye where the color ran. "Well unfortunately the only male clothes I have, I only have because they're unfinished. Besides, fewer questions are asked and more is assumed if a man and a woman are traveling together, rather than being two strange men. Especially if one of those strange men is wearing make up to hide his resemblance to a certain wanted criminal."

Wufei did not look assured, though he didn't offer any more objections either.

"Are you sure this will work?" Wufei asked a while later, before a tiny brush filled with a ruby red substance descended upon his lips.

"You don't really have a choice." Sally said in a tight voice. "Don't worry. When I was training under your mother she gave me the lower class work, most of which was theater work." She gestured around the oddly decorated attic before refilling her brush. "I got damn good at it too." She boasted. "I've turned more men into women then you would believe. And if I can make a man into a mermaid, I can get you passed a few guards."

Sally's brush was just about to touch Wufei's bottom lip when he pulled back. "Thank you." He said quickly. "I'm sorry for involving you."

Sally's hand dropped and her smile wavered. "Don't talk like that."

"I've endangered you by coming here." Wufei pushed on. "If someone saw me, you could-"

"Shut up!" Sally shouted. She quickly turned to the table beside her to grab a scrap of fabric. "You're screwing up your makeup..." She turned back to him and placed a gentle hand under his chin. Her eyes glistened as she dabbed away some stray color. "Just shut up and let me work."

* * *

Heero was sitting at a strange table, across from a strange woman, in a strange house with a cup of strange liquid steaming between his hands. He sat on the edge of his strange chair with his back as straight as a soldier on watch. His eyes flicked from the cup, to the back door, to the front door, and then to the stairway that Wufei had disappeared up nearly an hour ago. His eyes lingered on the stairs for a beat longer, and then flicked back to the cup between his palms. All the while he was keenly aware of the strange woman's eyes on him. 

Noin. She had been hastily introduced simply as "Noin."

And he, he had been hastily introduced simply as "a friend from the palace."

He could almost taste the woman's suspicion, but hoped she didn't have the audacity to confront him. He looked down at himself, wondering about his appearance for the first time in days. Luckily his clothes were old, worn for days without changing because of his depression and dirty from the run through the forest. It would be hard to suspect him of royalty in those clothes. His mother's words about his often disheveled appearance came back to him, bringing a rusty smirk to his lips.

"Where are you taking him?" Noin asked abruptly. Whether she was spurred on by his sudden smile or not, Heero couldn't guess.

"The palace." Heero said without thinking.

"What!" Noin asked with a condescending bark of laughter. "Are you insane or just stupid?"

Heero's royal anger flared, but this woman's...friend or whatever she was—was helping them so he had to keep nice. He simply didn't answer her.

"You have to get him as far away from here as you can! Away from that crazy prince!" Noin continued.

"I will take him wherever I want!" Heero shouted back, his miniscule reserve of patience run dry. "Don't tell me what to do!"

Noin watched him with cold interest, not even flinching at his outburst. "I don't care what you do, I don't even care if that stuck up little snot looses his head because he got caught again." She spoke slowly, watching Heero's every move with a sharp eye. "But for some reason I can't imagine, Sally cares about that arrogant bastard, which means that _I_ am forced to care about his wellbeing. Now, if later I hear that he's dead because you took him back to the very place he escaped from, I'm going hunt you down and gut you with the rusty trowel I use to dig up potatoes."

Before Heero could answer, Sally showed up at the bottom of the stairs. "Well, I see you two are getting along fine. I don't know what you were worried about." The last part she called up the stairs into the place beyond the wall that blocked off the view of the upper room.

Heero stood up awkwardly, feeling suddenly nervous. What had they come up with as a disguise?

"So...is this the part where I introduce the beautiful lady and everyone gasps in awe?" Sally called up the stairs.

A ball of yarn came whizzing through the air from the stairway and hit Sally in the exact center of her forehead. And with no further introduction, Wufei came down.

The first to appear was a shiny red boot, high heeled and with a pointy toe. It was soon followed by a stockinged leg and a swish of frills. Shocked into silence, Heero watched as a stranger came down in Wufei's place. She seemed to wear a hundred skirts, all tucked under one bright red one. Everything disappeared under a scarlet bodice pulled so tight that her modest bosom squeezed out through the top and seemed larger because of it. She clasped a black shawl around her shoulders, over which spilled a wealth of shiny blonde curls. A fake beauty mark kissed her cheek, her lips were ruby red, her eyes were laden with bright colors and her cheeks held a false blush...

Heero and Noin stared in shock, Sally was bubbling with pride and the girl looked very _very_ uncomfortable. This went on in silence for minute or two before Sally got impatient.

"So?" She urged. "You think he'll pass?"

"You look..." Heero started.

"Like a whore." Noin blurted out.

Sally smiled. "Great! That's what I was going for."

Wufei folded his arms and sulked in his most dignified way.

Noin stepped closer to inspect Sally's work. "Amazing, Sal... How did you give him those?" She pointed to Wufei's fake breasts.

Wufei held himself tighter and glared knives at Noin.

Sally feigned modesty. "A little padding and a _lot_ of pressure. He can barely breathe." The last bit she explained with disturbing pride.

Wufei looked up briefly to see Heero's reaction, but the prince looked quickly away.

"His own mother wouldn't recognize him Sal." Noin said before giving Sally a quick kiss on the cheek, instantly making both boys even more uncomfortable, if it were possible.

Sally was beaming as she ushered Wufei toward the back door. "You should get going before someone sees you." She said in a low voice.

Heero ducked out first to see if it was clear. The only living thing out side was a scrawny chicken that didn't even look Heero's way. Heero signaled that the way was clear without looking up at the people in the doorway.

Sally broke down and gave Wufei a quick but firm hug. "Take care?" She whispered with the intonation of a plea.

Wufei nodded.

As he stepped into the open, Noin held up a hand and said in an odd accent. "Have fun storming the castle!"

Sally snorted, but the boys only looked at her quizzically.

"It's an old joke." Noin said flatly.

Heero and Wufei left the girls holding each other in the door way, waving good bye with fake smiles.

They walked to the castle in silence, with Wufei taking rapid shallow breaths and Heero looking about nervously in every direction but Wufei's.

Sally didn't leave the door for a long while after Wufei had faded into the distance. Finally she gave a distressed sigh and pulled back into the house.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Sally asked as she sat down at the table. She stared down at the untouched mug Wufei's friend had left behind.

"I wouldn't worry." Noin assured her, placing a new cup of tea in front of Sally. "The prince wouldn't go through this much trouble only to have Wufei imprisoned again."

"I guess you're right..." Sally said with a sigh as she lifted the cup to her lips. Her brow wrinkled and she put the cup back down. "Wait...what?"

Noin lifted an eyebrow as she set across from Sally. "You didn't guess?" her lips tightened in a suppressed smile. "You wrapped and delivered Wufei into the hands of the enemy."

Sally blinked rapidly a few times, her mouth slightly open as she went over the events of the last hour. All she could say was: "Well fuck!"

Noin just chuckled.

* * *

At this point Trowa had to take a break. His throat had gone hoarse and his limbs were cramping. 

In the kitchen, he found a glass and filled it to the brim with water.

"You want to um...stop there?" Duo asked as he watched Trowa take long gulps from his glass.

"Yeah, we can leave it there for today." Quatre added from the kitchen door.

Trowa downed the last drops from his glass and shook his head. "Une will want us back now that the week is over, weekend or not." He filled his glass once more and headed back to the living room, gathering boys as he went. "We should finish this tonight."

"It's gonna be a long night." Duo said, bouncing happily behind Trowa.

* * *

They traveled under the shadow of the trees, skirting the very edge but not going inside of the forest. The sun was falling in the sky, turning the shadows into long, grasping fingers all reaching toward the castle. 

Wufei watched the tops of towers slowly rise from the line of trees in the distance with growing anxiety. Would the disguise work? And even if he got past the guards, could he really trust Heero?

Wufei stole a look at the silent prince, but he hadn't spared so much as a glance at Wufei since they left Sally's. Wufei looked back to the growing castle with another stone in his stomach.

When the castle gate came into view, Heero stopped.

Wufei, thankful for the break, placed a hand on his tightly bound stomach and tried to catch his breath.

"So that's the plan?" Heero said roughly, his eyes trained on the gate ahead. "You're supposed to be my..."

Wufei nodded to him but with a pang of shame, realized that Heero still wasn't looking at him. He looked back to the road. "Yes, I'm your prostitute." He said with obvious distaste.

Heero nodded. "We should..." he held out a stiff and impersonal arm. "...so they don't suspect..."

"Right..." Wufei placed his hand on Heero's arm with a confusing jumble of emotions, none of which he cared to acknowledge.

As they came up to the gate, a few guards came out to meet them. As they neared, Wufei's muscles tensed.

"Stay calm." Heero muttered under his breath a second before the guards came into earshot.

"Your Highness!" One of the guards called over. He bowed quickly and came up smiling. "Everyone has been searching..." his eyes fell on Wufei and he stuttered. "Uh...for you..."

Faced with danger, there is the "fight or flight" instinct in every animal, even humans. As the guard stared at him, Wufei was faced with one such situation. Drawing up every reserve of courage he had and stomping out the last of his pride, Wufei winked at the guard.

The guard turned a light pink and smiled sickeningly before turning back to the Prince. "You can go on up to your rooms..." he glanced back at Wufei with approval. "I'll spread the word that you're home safe."

Heero nodded and led Wufei toward the castle.

"I want to vomit." Wufei growled when they were a safe distance from the gate.

"We aren't safe yet." Heero said grimly.

* * *

Duo was holding his belly and tears were gathering on his lashes as he laughed. 

Quatre giggled behind his hand. "Oh poor Wufei!"

"I'm just glad Wufei isn't listening anymore." Trowa mumbled.

Quatre's eyes widened and Duo's laughs cut short. "'Anymore'!" They shouted in unison.

Trowa cleared his throat and went on.

* * *

They got through the halls without running into too many people, and luckily without meeting any of Heero's family. 

The walls sped past with only Heero's firm hand guiding Wufei. With his free hand, Wufei clutched the black shawl over his wig and hoped that fate was with him. It seemed like both hours and seconds before Heero stopped at what looked like the last of countless doors and threw it open.

The prince turned to Wufei, meeting his eyes for the first time since...Wufei couldn't remember. "Hurry inside." He said in a voice Wufei found achingly familiar.

The room was very dark. There was only one window, but not only was it mostly covered, the sun was already going down so even that gave off very little light.

Behind him, Wufei heard a heavy lock slide into place. The sound of old metal grinding together wasn't a pleasant or welcoming one.

Once the door was closed, Wufei could hardly see anything.

Something moved beside him and Wufei tensed, reflexively expecting a blow. Instead, Heero walked past him and began fumbling in the darkness. Light soon bloomed from a candle in Heero's hand. He lit a few lamps around the room and then placed the candle back on the table.

Wufei watched this with tense anticipation.

"Go take that off." Heero said, tipping his head toward a door on the opposite side of the room. He wasn't looking at Wufei anymore.

Wufei dropped the shawl to his shoulders again. He looked down at the hideous dress and the red pointed shoes. He wanted to get out of them as quickly as possible, but...

"Dispose of them." Heero spoke in a low voice. "I don't ever want to see them again."

Wufei's hands tightened on the shawl. He tried to walk calmly to the door, but his footsteps echoing in the silent room were hurried.

As soon as he shut the door, Wufei's fingers found the bodice lacings and he tore at them. The room was pitch-black, but Wufei hardly noticed. The knot came loose in Wufei's determined fingers and as quick as one of his strangled breaths, the bodice was off. He took a few deep and blessed breaths before he tore off the last pieces of women's clothing he swore he would ever wear. The wig topped the pile off with a flutter of fake curls.

Wufei stood over the pile of clothes that he couldn't see. His face felt caked with makeup and he could still feel where the bodice had cut into him, but once that wig was off he took his first few breaths of freedom.

He really had hoped never to do that again.

He felt around in the dark and found a bowl, pitcher and some towels. He breathed a sigh of relief as the sound of water sloshed around in the pitcher. He leaned over the bowl and poured the water straight onto the back of his head. The water snaked and twisted in his hair and over his face to land in large drops at the bottom of the bowl. He let it take away the make up—his last guise, the final lie.

He was finally able to let go of everything.

Even as he kneeled at Meiran's grave he didn't feel this amount of release. He didn't have the closure he wanted from Heero, the assurance of his parent's safety or Meiran's forgiveness. Though he didn't have any of that even now, what ever happened to him after this almost didn't matter.

It was really over, washed away.

He picked up a towel and scrubbed away the last of the make up, taking care at the hideous fake mole on his cheek. Even after it was all gone, he held the towel to his face. He stood naked in the darkness—clean, bare, free...

He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, and bent to gather Sally's clothes. He bundled them up so nothing was showing but one of the white under skirts. He didn't want to see them either.

When everything was done, he stood and looked blindly around. He was naked and only now thinking a change of clothing would have been a good idea. He looked around once more in fruitless hope.

"Damn." He growled.

He took a deep breath and opened the door a crack. He cleared his throat loudly and called out. "Do you have something I can wear?"

He waited in silence for what felt like centuries.

Wufei's heart sped up with every molasses second. "Hello?" he shouted a little louder.

More silence.

Inwardly groaning, Wufei opened the door enough to get his head through.

Heero was standing exactly where Wufei left him and staring unfocused at the wall in front of him.

Wufei cleared his throat again, but the prince didn't move. Some kind of unnamed and baseless fear gripped Wufei's heart and he called out again. "Heero?"

Heero snapped to attention. He looked over to Wufei, an odd vacancy in his eyes.

"Do you have some clothes I can wear?" Wufei repeated, unnerved by that look.

Heero didn't answer. His eyes suddenly focused...he looked at Wufei as though they had never met.

Then out of the silence, Heero's voice calmly shattered everything. "Come here."

Wufei's hand tightened on the door knob. "I'm not wearing anything."

Heero didn't seem to hear him. "Come here." He repeated.

Wufei once again felt he was walking to his doom, but at the same time he knew he could do nothing else. He came out slowly, expecting Heero to turn away, or yell, or attack him as more of his bare skin was exposed. Then he was out, and Heero hadn't moved.

Literally and metaphorically, Wufei stood bare and exposed. He had no more lies, no more fake faces or voices. He had nothing to hide behind and everything was there in Heero's eyes. Those cold blue eyes, they moved over every inch of Wufei's skin. Heero's face never changed; nothing moved or shifted except for those piercing eyes. Once they had inspected every muscle, every hair, every crease and every joint of Wufei's body, Heero's eyes rested once more on Wufei's eyes.

"Come here." Heero repeated, just as calmly as the first.

Wufei stepped forward without even thinking of disobeying. His feet stopped just out of reach of Heero, his heart beating like a hummingbird's wings.

Heero's eyes flittered across his face, and then traveled down his neck...

Wufei's breath stopped as Heero stepped forward and placed a gentle hand against Wufei's chest. That hand—only the light touch of a few fingers—traced the red indents on Wufei's skin where the bodice had left its mark. Then those fingers drifted from the lines, and went down across Wufei's ribs and over his stomach. His muscles tightened from years of work, twitched and melted into Heero's light touches.

Wufei grabbed Heero's hand as his touches started to move lower. His skin felt hot and he feared other reactions to Heero's exploring fingers. "Heero..." But he didn't know what to say. How could he explain anything anymore?

Heero was suddenly very close and suddenly...softly...Wufei could taste something that had haunted him in dreams: that familiar taste that was only Heero's taste. All he could smell was that scent that was only Heero's scent. Those cruel and teasing dreams as he lay alone in his prison... Was this just another twist of the dagger before he died?

Heero's lips slid away and his head fell onto Wufei's shoulder. The prince clung to his naked body and so close, Wufei could feel him trembling.

"Why do I want this?" Heero breathed harshly against Wufei's neck. "How can I still feel this?"

Wufei's arms wrapped hesitantly around Heero's waist, but when Heero didn't pull away he tightened his hold to match Heero's. "I'm sorry." He spoke in a hushed voice. "I wish this had happened any other way."

There were no tears on Wufei's skin, but Heero's chest heaved in dry sobs. "Hilde said you loved me." His voice gave away no emotion but held so close, Wufei could feel his every emotion.

"I do." Wufei said without hesitation. He was sure he could never lie again.

"I think..." Wufei could feel Heero's fear against his chest and sense his confusion against his skin. "I still..."

He couldn't say it yet, but he didn't need to. Wufei could feel everything.

* * *

Trowa paused for a long time, the boys staring at him with tense expectation. 

When the silence stretched unnaturally long, Duo cleared his throat. "Well?"

Trowa shifted uncomfortably. "I don't feel comfortable..." he trailed off but looked at them apologetically as a continuation.

Duo's shoulders dropped. "Oh come on!" he looked to Quatre for support, but the blonde just blushed and picked at the blanket on his lap.

Duo looked wildly at the both of them. "We've _had_ sex! Many times!" he flailed his arms.

Quatre hid behind his hands.

Trowa shifted again. "But this isn't us...and I would be...saying it."

Quatre nodded behind his hands.

Duo sighed and clasped his hands together. "You have to give me something!"

Trowa looked at the hiding Quatre and thought a moment.

* * *

Heero had begun with those questioning touches, but once Wufei allowed himself to return them, their explorations soon escalated further than ever before. As the first light blushed the sky a pale pink, they were making love without a thought to the people they had been just days before. 

When the sun reached Heero's window, Wufei was asleep. Heero stayed awake an hour later, looking down at the real person he had fallen in love with the first day they met.

He would always remember that morning, but even years after he wouldn't be able to explain what he felt as he watched Wufei sleep. It was as though he had fallen in love with someone but only ever saw one side of their face, one corner of their being. Looking down at Wufei that morning he found that everything he had ever known and loved about Wufei was still there, and everything he never knew was his to learn. He found he loved the whole picture the same, if not more than when he saw only part of it. In his mind he knew he wasn't supposed to feel this, that this wasn't what how things were supposed to be, but that was only his mind.

Looking down at Wufei that morning, he knew this couldn't have happened any other way. What would happen next would happen; now that he had Wufei, he could do everything or nothing at all, and he would be fine. Everything would be fine. He could finally be happy.

* * *

Quatre couldn't keep his giggle from escaping. He fell against Trowa in a content half-hug, an irremovable smile on his lips. Trowa shifted into a more comfortable position, and then held a hand out to Duo. Duo crawled over to snuggle against Trowa's side. His hand found its way to Quatre's hair and he begun twisting idly, much to the blonde's delight. 

Trowa looked to each of the boys in lazy contentment, then up to the ceiling. "And now to wrap it all up..."

"Remember that it's gotta be realistic." Duo said with a yawn. "No 'everything is great!' and all that happily ever after shit."

Quatre made a small noise of disapproval.

"Hey, it can still be a happy ending! As long as it's realistic too." Duo defended.

Trowa chuckled and thought for a moment.

* * *

Wufei was kept secret for nearly a week, hidden in Heero's room under the guise of the Prince's whore. 

They had spent those days together in a lazy trance. They took advantage of every precious hour, relearning and rebuilding. There was no outside taint, no third party influences. It was just the two of them, and it was nearly perfect.

Despite all his efforts, Wufei could not shake the title: The Prince's Whore. Though he had quickly disposed of the actual disguise, that silent assumption, that unspoken lie was like a sliver under Wufei's skin. It stung at his honor every time he had to hide from the servants bringing food and it sliced at his pride every time Heero locked the door when he left. He was hidden. He was shame.

He pushed it back, unwilling to spoil the moment's peace. He kept silent and tried to enjoy the few precious days while they lasted. But they didn't last. No, they ended all too quickly and all too unexpectedly.

In their short time of peace they had become too comfortable, too careless. It was as easy as falling asleep. Literally. They had stayed up late into the night; they talked a little, made love many times and even sparred, though not seriously. Dawn was a scarce hour away when Wufei's eyes finally slid shut and Heero's breath slowed. In their comfort, in their bliss, they had forgotten to lock the door.

Hours later, the woman who brought breakfast knocked lightly on Heero's door a few times. When they didn't answer, she came in as quietly as she could. She meant just to leave the food on a table by the door, but she misjudged the distance and the tray landed with a louder sound then she had intended.

Both boys awoke at the sound. Heero jerked up immediately, his sudden movement causing the servant to jump and swerve in his direction.

"Forgive-!" The woman's voice stopped short in a small yelp, because at that moment Wufei sat up, still drowsy after only a few hours of sleep.

Wufei felt Heero's hand clamp around his arm with alarm, and he blinked rapidly to clear his fogged morning vision. His eyes focused on the shocked servant, staring at him as though she had just walked in on them in the throws of passion.

Before either boy could move, the girl was out the door and running full speed down the halls.

Her rapid footsteps were still slapping against the tile when Heero slid out of bed. "We should get dressed. We have about five minutes before my father will want to see us." He spoke calmly, matter-of-factly.

Wufei wouldn't tell Heero, or anyone..._ever_...but in that moment, he wasn't afraid of what might happen. In actuality, he was relived.

* * *

Wufei had thought Heero was exaggerating, but it was only minutes after the servant girl found him that they were ushered into the thrown room. 

Queen Heather sat in her thrown, an uncharacteristically thoughtful look on her face. She regarded Wufei with very little surprise as he walked in behind her son. Throughout most of the coming discussion, she would remain unnervingly silent, her hands folded in her lap and her eyes sharply following the conversation.

The King was everything his wife was not. He stood on the dais, but had long since deserted his ornate thrown. He paced from one end of the platform to the other, his layers or embroidered silk and plush velvet following him like a nervous steward. His chest was already heaving and his face was flushed red with rage when they entered. When he spoke, his voice seemed uncontrollably loud.

"What is the meaning of this!" Odin shouted as his son entered. When Wufei followed behind wearing some of Heero's clothes, his whole body seemed to expand to fit his rage. "Will someone tell me what the hell is going on!" He turned the corner and his elaborate robes whipped aside with an emphasizing swish.

Heero stopped in the middle of the room and regarded his puffed and bothered father with cold arrogance. "Is there a problem?"

Odin seemed ready to burst. He clenched and unclenched his hands several times before flinging one richly draped arm in Wufei's direction. "Would you care to explain why that...that _criminal_ was..._with_ you!" Odin, by now, was most likely informed of every detail of what the servant had seen, including the amount—or lack thereof—of clothing both boys had been wearing.

"I didn't want to wait until the wedding." Heero replied coolly.

The King was frozen. He stared at his son as though he were waiting for either the punch line or a hand to shake him out of this nightmare. Wufei himself was shocked and wondering how much of that statement was meant solely to rile up the old man.

They were still stuck in that suffocating stasis when the door burst open and a wide-eyed and disheveled Hilde rushed into the room. As she skidded to a stop in front of Wufei, an unsettling sense of déjà vu settled into his stomach.

"You're okay!" she shouted with an almost insane grin. She seemed to be itching to hug him, but she took one look at her father and wisely decided against it. "What's going on?" she asked carefully.

"THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW!" King Odin shouted, making his wife and daughter flinch.

"I already announced our engagement." Heero spoke calmly to his father. "It was already approved."

"That was before I knew he wasn't a woman! Before _you_ knew!" The king roared in reply. He started pacing again with his robs swishing angrily behind him.

Hilde retreated a few steps, her relief fading and quickly being replaced with new worries.

"Gender aside, nothing has changed." Heero's voice was tinted with the beginnings of anger.

"Everything has changed!" Odin's robes swished. "Only days ago that man was supposed to be executed! Now you want to marry him?" The King looked around wildly as though everyone was going to spring out and shout: "surprise!" and this horrible joke would end. "You can't be serious!"

"I am serious." Heero answered. Nothing is his voice even hinted that he was anything other than that.

Wufei finally allowed him self to look over, having trained his eyes as confidently as he could on the king. He saw that utter seriousness etched in every cell of Heero's body, and he was once again reminded of Heero's birthday ball. That same feeling of fearful excitement and dreadful joy, returned to him. He wanted it to be true but some deep seeded voice laughed at his foolish hope. He looked back at Odin with a calm and confidant expression as undisturbed as the still pool in his mind's eye, but inside he was everything but that.

The King regarded his son with disbelief. "Have you thought about this?" he asked. "Putting aside your sudden insanity, forgetting for a moment this..." he looked at Wufei with blatant disgust, "perversion..."

Wufei stared back, his body tensing with an old friend of an emotion. His temper had too long been kept silent, put away and suppressed for many reasons. Now it burned in his veins, pulsed in his muscles, lit his every breath. It returned to him so quickly and easily that Wufei wondered briefly how he had kept it dormant for so long.

Wufei stared back at Odin, his eyes on fire with a silent challenge to that pompous old man.

But Odin looked away, either oblivious or indifferent to Wufei's silent rage. To Heero he said, "If you were to marry this...man...what would happen when I die? What would he be? Queen? Co-King? And how could you have an heir? And how would your subjects take this? Your army? The men who guard your castle? Have you considered any of this!"

Heero was silent.

Odin nodded, the corner of his mouth turning upward in self-satisfaction. "Of course not." He turned sharply and went to his thrown. He sat down beside his wife and folded his hands together. "This sort of thing isn't new to the bloodline." He said suddenly. "Kings of past generations have been known to keep..." he cleared his throat. "...men, like women, for recreational purposes." His voice took on the air of someone reluctantly granting a favor. "If you wish, he can stay as one such...luxury."

Wufei's mouth tasted sour.

He was the Prince's Whore. He was hidden. He was shame.

"I would rather die." Wufei's words bubbled from his throat with utter sincerity.

Every eye turned toward him. Even the Queen shifted for the first time since their entrance.

"That would be my preference as well." The King replied with just as much sincerity.

"I will not accept that." Heero answered. "Either option." He glanced sternly at Wufei, who wouldn't meet his eyes. He turned back to his father. "If you do not want Wufei to rule beside me, then so be it. I will refuse the crown and Hilde will become Queen."

Hilde looked up suddenly as though the cannon were now aimed at her. "M-m-me?" she stammered.

"Preposterous!" The King shouted.

Hilde's shoulders slumped and she was obviously hurt.

If he noticed this, Odin apparently didn't care. He descended from his dais, an angry storm cloud of silk and velvet. He stopped a foot in front of Heero. He was maybe an inch taller than his son but by sheer force of will, he was now towering over him.

"Listen to me, you insolent child." He seethed. "I could have you dragged from this room, stripped of every right and title, thrown into the streets and left for _rat fodder._ One word and I can have you locked in your room until you _rot_."

"Try it." Heero's voice was liquid ice.

The King's chest was heaving as he sucked in angry breaths. He seemed ready to do something—yell, strike, storm off...and maybe he would have, but a calm voice pierced through the room, a soothing balm for a room of white hot rage.

"Odin dear," the Queen's voice soothed, "sit a moment and breathe."

The King stared down at his son another few heartbeats before taking his wife's advice. He went back to his thrown and glared silent daggers at the rebellious prince.

Heather let silence reign for a few seconds before she spoke again. It was the voice she used with her subjects in ceremonies, and so often to calm arguments. This was a skill she was forced to learn, a role she had developed from experience.

"Heero, I agree with your father on this. What you are proposing cannot be done." She sounded almost regretful.

"It can, and it will or I do not take the crown." Heero stated.

Heather frowned. "What if the people don't accept it?"

"I will make them accept it." Heero answered calmly.

"What would his title be? His position?" She asked, her frown deepening.

"Whatever he wants it to be." Heero answered simply.

Heather didn't seem comforted by his answers, but she pulled out the trump card: "What about an heir?"

Heero was silenced.

Heather breathed a heavy sigh. "I understand how you feel dear, but this simply cannot be done. There is more at stake than just pride. If there is no heir..."

"I'll do it."

There was a long silence, in which every eye turned to a shadow behind Wufei.

"I'll do it." Hilde repeated. "I'll have the heir."

Heather stared at her daughter in confusion. "What?" she asked what everyone else was thinking.

"Heero and Wufei can get married and I'll have the next in line." She explained. "Marry me off to some third son of foreign king or something, and I'll keep having kids until I get a boy." She spoke as if it were nothing at all.

"Hilde, that's not..." Heather started to say, but even she didn't know exactly what she planned to say.

"It's not like I have anyone in mind." Hilde went on. "The person I love and the person who loves me are two different people." She looked down at the floor. "And nothing's going to change that..." She looked up again with a forced smile. "I may as well be of some use."

"This is ridiculous!" Odin shouted. He was standing again, and staring down at Heero as though it were somehow his idea.

"You don't have anymore arguments." Heero spoke with a touch of victory.

"I will not allow this!" The King shouted down from his dais.

"You won't have a choice once you're dead." Heero countered.

Odin seemed about to explode, but his wife cut in with that Aloe Vera voice, "That is enough for today, Heero. Your father and I will discuss this alone." She spoke to Heero first, and then turned to her daughter. "I want you to think hard about what you're offering." Then to everyone she said, "Go now, you have said all you can."

The door closed behind the three banished children, leaving them alone in the empty corridor.

Heero immediately went to the opposite wall. His whole body tensed, he curled a fist and before anyone realized what he was doing, he slammed that fist into the wall. It met with a sickening flesh-against-stone thud.

Wufei and Hilde winced.

"Christ, Heero." Hilde mumbled.

Wufei looked at Hilde. This girl had played him out to the extremities of his emotional spectrum. This girl had condemned him to death, only to turn around and try to save him from it. This girl was willing to sacrifice a lifetime's happiness for his...

"Hilde..." Wufei called to her as she turned to leave.

"Hm?" her voice was supposed to sound casual but she couldn't hide her apprehension.

"Thank you." He said with a tiny bow.

Hilde waved her hand, a sad smile on her lips. "I just want to make up for...you know...stabbing you in the tits." She laughed tensely. "Well anyway, I don't want to be here when they come out so..." with a little wave, she walked off.

Heero was flexing his hand with a tightness around his eyes that was the only thing that indicated that he was in pain.

"Do you feel better?" Wufei asked dryly.

Heero dropped his hand and stared back defiantly. "Yes."

"Good, then we can finally train seriously." Wufei started to walk in the opposite direction of Hilde. "I've noticed that you're getting soft." He added with an inner smirk.

Heero grabbed Wufei's arm. His good hand, Wufei noticed. "Wufei." Heero's voice had a touch of urgency.

Wufei turned to face a solemn Heero.

"If they won't let us be together here, we may have to leave." Heero said.

Wufei didn't answer right away. Was he serious about all of this? Wufei searched his face but found nothing but complete sincerity. "I can't let you sacrifice..." he didn't finish his protest.

Heero hooked his fingers around the back of Wufei's neck, his thumb resting where Wufei's ear met his jaw. His bad hand, Wufei noticed. Firm but gentle, he pulled Wufei close. Those deep blue eyes trapped Wufei's and forced him to accept their unrelenting truth.

"I had never cared about anything before I met you." Heero spoke in a voice so low that only someone as close as Wufei could hear it. "Only death can take you from me now, and even that won't win without a fight. Do you understand?"

Later there would troubles. Even if the king agreed to their marriage, they would have to deal with the rest of the kingdom. Later there would be wars and losses, droughts and blizzards, religious disputes and power grabs.

Later perhaps Hilde would be married off to some foreign prince.  
Later perhaps the king would die and there would be controversy over his successor.  
Later perhaps Zechs would disappear.  
Later perhaps, the next day even, so would the new arms master.  
Later perhaps Wufei would start a temple of his own and gather a small but dedicated following.  
Later perhaps Heero would lead his army in a successful campaign and be accepted as king.  
Later perhaps Hilde will birth seven children, all of them girls.  
Later, perhaps...

But in that moment Heero pulled Wufei the tiniest bit closer. Their lips met in a second. It was a breath, a flash of time in the entirety of their lives, but it was the most important breath in their lives.

As Odin raved at his placid wife and Hilde tried to make it to her room before her tears began to run; as Mrs. Chang placed flowers on her daughter's grave and Mr. Chang stood solidly nearby; as Sally stitched a detached sleeve on her back porch near Noin, who was bringing an axe down to split a waiting log; as Zechs swung a practice foil through the air with the arms master looking on in approval; as Dorothy packed her last dress into a large trunk and a heavy sigh escaped her lips; As everything stormed and wailed outside of them, Heero and Wufei stood in a delicate bubble of perfection.

Everything was ending and everything was beginning. While running they had come to a cliff, and now stood hanging on the edge right before they were either captured or forced to jump. They were in the beat between death and rebirth, in the eye of the storm, in the second you float right before the fall. For the one minute between peace and destruction, Heero and Wufei shared one perfect kiss.

Later the world could fall apart.

Later they could loose everything.

"Are you sure?" Wufei asked when their lips drifted apart.

And Heero just nodded.

* * *

"The End." Trowa finished. 

Quatre sighed with a sad smile. "That was beautiful Trowa."

Duo nodded and sniffed. "A little sappy though." He said in a thick voice.

Trowa smiled. "I'm sorry."

Duo shrugged and tried to covertly wipe his eyes. "I'll live." He stretched his arms out wide, his chest expanding with a large yawn. "I can't believe it's over." He said mid-yawn, which made his voice sound strange.

Quatre pulled his legs up to his chest and hugged his knees. "It's a little sad." He said softly. "I really will miss this." He looked around at the scattered pillows and empty glasses, and then at Duo as he started to cuddle against Trowa again. He sighed sadly and curled up at Trowa's other side.

"Honestly, I will too." Trowa said. He reached over to lazily twist his fingers in Quatre's hair.

There was a long silence as they all stared up at the ceiling and reflected on the end of the story—and consequently, the end of their nights together.

"Well...why do we have to stop there? Why don't I tell one?" Duo suggested.

Quatre leaned over Trowa with a smile as bright as the midday sun. "Really?"

Duo grinned. "Why not? I may not be as poetic as Trowa, but mine'll have sex in it!"

Quatre blushed, but in a small voice he said: "really?"

Duo's grin turned devilish. "Lots of it."

Trowa chuckled. "It's getting late though, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

Quatre shot up and searched the darkness for a clock. "Oh no! Do you really think we'll have to work in the morning?"

Trowa stood up and stretched, towering over the two shorter boys.

Duo was still smiling devilishly. "Let's sleep in here."

Quatre frowned. "I don't think that's a very good idea..."

Duo crawled over and snaked a hand up Quatre's leg. "But I need some inspiration..."

Quatre blushed and melted back to the floor.

Trowa smiled as Duo's other hand enticed him to join them. "It is a shame Une will be unable to reach us tomorrow."

* * *

Miles away, Wufei slung an old pack over his shoulder with a stifled yawn. The shuttle doors opened and blank faced passengers filed out into the small Russian landing strip. It wasn't the largest or even safest shuttle port, but it was the quickest trip Wufei could find. 

He was the last to exit, letting all the competitive people in a hurry to be off the damn thing go first. Wufei hesitated at the top of the exit ramp, his eyes darting across the foreign terrain.

Was he really sure he wanted to do this? Was he just getting his hopes up for nothing?

His fellow passengers slowly drifted away while Wufei hesitated at the shuttle door, unsure of taking that final step. Soon everyone was gone but for one person who seemed to be standing still a few yards off. Wufei shifted the bag on his shoulder and started down the ramp, but froze when his eyes caught the still figure in the distance.

Even from far away the outline was familiar. Even from far away he could see that ruffled hair and those piercing eyes.

Wufei's lips curled in a tight smile and he made his way toward the lone man.

"I should have known you would find out where I was landing." He called out when he was closer.

"You should have used a new alias." Heero answered when Wufei stopped in front of him.

Even if the strip were filled with people, Wufei would be the only one to know that Heero was smiling.

The (2nd) End

Author's (really long) Note:Well that's it! Honestly, I feel like crying. I can't believe it's all over -sniff-  
First and foremost, I would like to thank Rai Kasshu for beta reading this chapter for me. I really wanted to give this a good send off and I'm incredibly thankful to her for giving me some peace of mind as to the quality of the final chapter. Thanks so much Rai!  
Now to all of you, this is all going to sound cliché and sappy but it's true! I hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. This was definitely the most fun I've ever had writing and I'm really sorry to see it go.  
I want to thank all of you readers. From the bottom of my heart, I love you all! I've read (and when I was feeling down, reread) all of your reviews and your kind words always put an immovable grin on my face. You've stayed by me despite my infrequent updates and that really means a lot to me. I still can't believe how much response I got to this little fic that started as a fluffy, pick me up, fun story to shake off all the heavy drama of Phoenix. I never expected anything I wrote to get reviews in the triple digits and it still boggles my mind to see the number! Your kindness and enthusiasm has fueled me more than you can know! It warms me to know that something I created brought joy to so many. And I want to give a special thanks to those who gave me constructive criticism. Looking from the first chapter to this, it's obvious that I've learned a lot.  
I know that I'm starting to ramble but it's so hard to say good bye! I'm sorry to say that I don't think I will be writing in this fandom again, and that is just another good bye to make this harder!  
I will try to get an official site together so that I can share my other writings, but websites aren't my forte. If you would like to be updated on the progress, visit my live journal or write to me and I'll compile a little mailing list of sorts.  
You can also comment on my live journal if you have any questions or comments that you want a reply for, since I can't really reply on here. The link for my live journal is on my profile as my webpage.  
So I guess this is good bye! Thank you again everyone! I will miss you all as much as I will miss writing this story.

Your humble author,  
Nataku's Child

Edit: Thanks to Tai for pointing out the typo! It is now fixed.   
As to a Duo's Story sequel, there are a few reasons I don't think I could do it:  
1) Bad sequels often ruin the original ;;   
2) Duo's story would most likely be riddled with sex and I'm still unsure of where line is on sex. Plus I've never written it before ;;  
3) I sorta said I wasn't gonna write in this fandom again ;; I want to try my hand at original stories.  
Thanks again!


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